Long-Term Effect of Modified Incision to Prevent Related Complications in Deep Brain Stimulation.

BACKGROUND: Skin complications are a frequent type of complication of deep brain stimulation (DBS) neurosurgical procedure and are always observed in the postauricular area, scalp area, and implantable pulse generator pocket. Modifications to the surgical techniques for DBS have been proposed as therapeutic options. To prevent skin complications, we modified the surgical incisions.

METHODS: At our center, we retrospectively analyzed the complications associated with traditional surgical incisions and then adjusted the double C-shaped incision and changed the postauricular incision from vertical to horizontal in patients undergoing DBS for movement disorders.

RESULTS: Skin complications were observed in 4 patients among 30 patients who underwent traditional surgical incisions. In 102 consecutive patients who underwent operations with modified surgical incisions, we did not encounter any skin complications such as skin infection or erosion related to our modified incision. A single patient experienced pain and was cured after a week of local antiinflammatory treatment.

CONCLUSION: By trying to avoid placing hardware directly under the suture line, our modified surgical incision successfully reduces the incidence of skin complications.