A patient was experiencing horrendous pain in a tooth on the left side of his mouth and in the middle of his chest.The pain occurred only once initially, when the patient accidentally swiped his vns magnet over his generator.At a clinic visit 2 weeks prior, the patient's neurologist believed the device was operating normally, per the patient.The following month, the neurologist suspected that a problem with the patient's lead may have occurred based on the clinical symptoms that patient was experiencing.The neurologist ordered x-rays of the patient's vns system; however, the x-rays were not reviewed by the manufacturer.No device malfunction was reported at that time.Two months after his initial report, the patient stated that he felt like a woodpecker was hitting his chest when he turned onto his left side, and he continued to experience pain in his gums.The sensation occurred every 3 minutes with stimulation and went away when stimulation stopped.The patient was evaluated by his dentist, who stated that nothing was wrong with the patient's teeth or gums.The patient reported that though he initially felt stimulation when he was implanted, he stopped perceiving stimulation until his initial report of pain two months prior.The patient noted that the pain was impacting his sleep.The patient had taken pain medication to treat the painful stimulation, but the medication did not help.The patient was seen in clinic a week after the updated report, and device diagnostics were performed and returned results within the normal limits.The patient reported that magnet swipes made him feel as though he could not breathe in addition to the painful stimulation he was previously experiencing.The patient's settings were reduced as intervention for the painful stimulation and dyspnea.The patient was referred for surgery as the neurologist believed that the vns was clearly causing the patient's pain, despite diagnostics being within the normal limits.The surgery was reportedly both required to preclude a serious injury and for patient comfort.No additional relevant information has been received to date.No surgical intervention has occurred to date.
|