Northwest Ambulatory Surgery Center Conducts First Commercial Implantation Of The Senza® Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) In Portland, Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwest Ambulatory Surgery Center, Portland, OR, is pleased to announce the first commercial implantation of the Senza® spinal cord stimulator (SCS) in Portland, Oregon. The Senza® SCS system, which delivers Nevro's proprietary HF10™ therapy (Nevro Corporation, Menlo Park, CA), is a recently FDA-approved spinal cord stimulator that has demonstrated superior results compared to traditional SCS for the treatment of back and leg pain in a large multicenter study in the United States.

"I'm honored to be the first pain physician in Portland, OR to offer this promising technology to patients with chronic low back and leg pain," said Dr. Mark A. Kallgren, MD, Medical Director, Pain Medicine of the Oregon Anesthesiology Group. "Having been involved with spinal cord stimulation for almost 25 years, I am very excited to see its evolution and impact on treating pain without drugs via a minimally invasive, reversible and non-destructive therapy. Having the option of Senza® high frequency, non-paresthesia, spinal cord stimulation is a huge advance and offers patients therapy with excellent, robust results, as proven definitely in the Senza® random controlled trial, which was well done and very sound scientifically."

100 million people in the U.S. suffer from common chronic pain conditions, and chronic pain is the primary cause of adult disability in the United States¹. The majority of these pain conditions are felt in the back or legs. There is a variety of treatment options for chronic pain that range from medications to surgical interventions.

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) represents another option to treat chronic pain. It involves the delivery of electrical signals to the spinal cord in order to alter pain signals to the brain. The electrical pulses are delivered by small electrodes on leads that are placed near the spinal cord and are connected to a compact, battery-powered generator implanted under the skin. SCS is a reversible therapy that has helped hundreds of thousands of people experience relief from chronic pain.

HF10™ therapy, Nevro's high-frequency therapy at 10,000 Hz, represents a significant advance in spinal cord stimulation. FDA approval for HF10™ therapy included superiority labeling over traditional SCS therapy (HF10™ therapy is the only SCS therapy with this distinction), validating that HF10™ therapy reduces pain more effectively in more patients.

Additionally, HF10™ therapy is also the only SCS therapy indicated to deliver pain relief without paresthesia (a stimulation-induced sensation, such as tingling, burning, or pricking, which is the basis of traditional SCS) and is the only SCS system approved by FDA to be used without patient restrictions on driving while receiving therapy.

Northwest Ambulatory Surgery Center has served the Portland area for over 10 years and is comprised of highly trained, caring professionals committed to providing high quality care. Their mission is to provide first-class surgical services in a safe, welcoming environment; one in which they would be happy to treat their own families. Northwest Ambulatory Surgery Center is an affiliate of United Surgical Partners International, partnered with local physicians, and accredited by Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. It is fully licensed by the state of Oregon and is Medicare certified. Dr. Kallgren may be reached at the OAG Interventional Pain Consultant Clinic, 503-517-3785.

SOURCE Northwest Ambulatory Surgery Center