Implant brings immediate relief for teenager with long-lasting pain in UK first

Newcastle Hospitals/PA Wire

By Tom Wilkinson, PA Media

A patient has become the first teenager in the UK to have a pain-relieving implant fitted to his spinal cord to ease an agonising condition.

For five years Ralph Seed, 18, has suffered from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in his foot which meant the slightest touch was excruciating, leaving him unable to walk or put pressure on it.

At the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, he became the first teenager in the UK to be fitted with the device.

The pain was so bad that Seed, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, last year contemplated having his foot amputated, having tried multiple treatments including powerful pain killers, physiotherapy and psychological support.

But from the moment the implant was switched on after surgery, Seed’s pain disappeared.

The device is called Inceptiv, which alters nerve activity by using mild electrical currents to disrupt pain signals before they reach the brain.

It reacts to the patient’s movement, using the body’s own signals to adapt and adjust the stimulation to meet their needs.