• Fraser Henderson and Istvan Takacs.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Electronic address: henderfr@musc.edu.
• World Neurosurg. 2017 Jan 1; 97: 547-550.

BackgroundTroubleshooting of deep brain stimulators (DBSs, Activa SC/PC/RC Medtronic PLC, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) sometimes results in a decision to replace a tunneled stretch-coil extension cable. We present a simple technique to accomplish this atraumatically without a tunneling tool.ObjectivesIn the treatment of patients with a DBS, complication avoidance and efficiency of operative time are paramount. We sought to find the safest, most effective, and fastest method of performing the conceptually simple yet technically nuanced act of replacing lead extension cables.MethodsWe connected #6 (8.0 metric) surgical steel 18″ (45-cm) monofilament (Ethicon US, LLC, Somerville, New Jersey, USA), also known as #6 sternal wire, in line with DBS extension cables (Medtronic DBS Extension 37086-60) in novel fashion to overcome intraprocedural hurdles encountered during the past decade in a busy functional neurosurgery service.ResultsPatients tolerate the procedure well and return home shortly after recovery with no complications.ConclusionsA less expensive and faster technique for passing pulse generator extension cables may be the use of a sternal wire. Using the described technique, pulse generators may be quickly and safely adjusted from side to side and site to site as the clinical situation dictates.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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