UNM neurosurgeon administers experimental arthritis treatment to first New Mexico patient – KOB
In September, she said her prayers were answered. Dr. Heather Spader, a neurosurgeon at UNM, implanted a microstimulator inside Telles’s neck and her pain was gone.
“Me and my husband are taking our walks now without me hurting…….
In September, she said her prayers were answered. Dr. Heather Spader, a neurosurgeon at UNM, implanted a microstimulator inside Telles’s neck and her pain was gone.
“Me and my husband are taking our walks now without me hurting,” Telles said. “I’m doing more yard work than I was doing.”
The implant is attached to the vagal nerve, which is responsible for inflammatory responses in the human body.
“There’s one incision in the neck,” Dr. Spader said. “It’s like a little coffee bean-type implant that you place in there and it can be removed if you have to – and you charge it with just a collar that you put on.”
Dr. Spader said previous implants were more invasive and batteries needed to be changed periodically.
The treatment is currently in clinical trials and is not widely available yet. Researchers are also looking at how it can be used to treat epilepsy.
