Intracept

FDA-Approved minimally invasive procedure To provide lasting Back pain relief

Intracept is a FDA approved, minimally invasive procedure, that targets the basivertebral nerves inside the vertebral bones for the relief of chronic vertebrogenic low back pain. Dr. Amit Sharma is one of the few interventional spine and pain specialists on Long Island proficient in performing this procedure.

Back pain is a symptom. It is not a diagnosis. Finding the root cause of back pain is not a simple task, especially once it has lasted more than 6 months. You can read more details about the investigative process of “Untangling Back Pain” later. There are many sources that can lead to back pain (arthritis, degenerative disc disease, degenerative spinal bones, ligaments tears, muscle sprains and even pinched nerves). If you have exhausted physical therapy, chiropractic care or other conservative modalities over the past several months. it is time to get to the bottom of you back pain cause.

A leading cause of chronic low back pain is degeneration of spinal discs, which ultimately leads to destruction of spinal bone end plates. The pain from these deteriorating bones is carried through the basivertebral nerve. The basivertebral nerve is found deep inside the vertebral bones of lower back. Intracept is an innovative, outpatient, minimally invasive procedure, which targets these basivertebral nerves and interrupts the transmission of pain signals.

With the Intracept procedure, the physician makes a very small 3-5 millimeter incision in the lower back. A small introducer is then placed through this tiny incision and gently drilled into the outer part of spinal bone. After this channel is created, a radiofrequency probe is then inserted to access the center of the vertebral bone where the trunk of the basivertebral nerve is located. Heat is applied through the probe desensitizing the nerve making it unable to transmit a pain signal. The procedure is done in either deep sedation or general anesthesia. It takes an average of 1-1.5 hours to complete. It is usually performed in a hospital outpatient centers and patients are discharged the same day. Details of procedure are provided later in this article.

The Intracept Intraosseous Nerve Ablation System is intended to be used in conjunction with radiofrequency (RF) generators for the ablation of basivertebral nerves of the L3 through S1 vertebrae for the relief of chronic low back pain of at least six months duration that has not responded to at least six months of conservative care,

and is also accompanied by features consistent with degenerated discs and end plates of vertebral column bones showing Type 1 or Type 2 Modic changes on an MRI such as inflammation, edema, vertebral endplate changes, disruption and fissuring of the endplate, vascularized fibrous tissues within the adjacent marrow, hypointensive signals (Type 1 Modic change), and changes to the vertebral body marrow including replacement of normal bone marrow by fat, and hyperintensive signals (Type 2 Modic change).