Spinal Cord Stimulator
When it comes to successful management of chronic back pain, sometimes extreme measures such as surgery on the spinal cord is necessary. In this type of surgery a device is used to exert pulsed electrical signals to the spinal cord to control chronic pain.
Often patients are asked to obtain a psychological evaluation before the surgery can be offered. The purpose of the psychological evaluation is to assure that patients’ mental and emotional health as well as their beliefs regarding successful pain management are predictive of successful outcome after surgery. In other words, surgeons and often insurers would like to offer the surgery to candidates that seem likely to highly benefit from it, otherwise the risks may outweigh the benefits.
For more information on psychological evaluation for SCS visit http://www.medicalpsychologyservice.com
This service is provided by Dr. Katie Dashtban, Psy.D.
Katie defines her role as a psychologist as one who holds a guiding light, while her patients choose the turns in this maze we call life. In her practice, Katie refrains from offering advice, but instead helps her patients overcome obstacles that cause emotional suffering, and shows them tools to use when deciding on the desired changes in their lives.
