Last night (8-29-03), while channel surfing, I came across a bit of a
discussion between Larry King and Jerry Lewis. I missed the beginning,
but I gather that Lewis was talking about the use of a gadget for the
treatment of some kind of extreme pain. He called it SOMETHING like
"NEURO FIBRILLATOR" or, perhaps, "NEURO DEFIBRILLATOR". I would like
to know as much as possible of the following:
a) the actual name of the device
b) how it can be acquired (preferably with an idea of the cost & of
whether insurance covers it)
c)where/how can it be purchased
d)what kind of pain it is suitable for
e)how it works (in layman's terms)

I've gathered some information to answer each of your questions, with
some additional material and a search strategy that will enable you to
find other online sources of data.

======================================================================

a) the actual name of the device 

The device, called a Neurostimulation System (or neurostimulator), is
made by a company called Medtronic. Jerry Lewis is the company's
spokesman.

======================================================================

b) how it can be acquired (preferably with an idea of the cost & of
whether insurance covers it)

The Medtronic neurostimulator costs approximately $12,000. The
Medtronic website says "The system is approved by Medicare and many
insurance carriers will pay for Medtronic Pain Therapies. However, as
with many therapies, your doctor will have to get approval from your
insurance company before you can receive treatment. Consult your
doctor or insurance carrier for more specific information."

======================================================================

c) where/how can it be purchased 

You or your physician can contact Medtronic online, or by telephone.

Medtronic: Contact
http://www.medtronic.com/corporate/contact.jsp

Here you'll find a list of Medtronic's facilities worldwide:

Medtronic, Inc: Medtronic Global Headquarters
http://www.medtronic.com/corporate/commun.html

======================================================================

d) what kind of pain it is suitable for

Among the conditions specifically mentioned by Medtronic are chronic
back and/or leg pain, cancer pain, complex regional pain syndromes
(CRPS), and painful neuropathy. From the Medtronic website: "Your
doctor (or a doctor to whom you are referred) will put you through a
selection process to determine if these treatments may benefit you."
 
Medtronic: Chronic Pain
http://www.medtronic.com/hic/pain.html

Medtronic: Types of Pain Treated
http://www.medtronic.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Medtronic/Website/StageArticle&ConditionName=Chronic+Back+and/or+Leg+Pain&Stage=Treatment&Article=bpain_art_mdt_types

Medtronic: Preparing for Your Physician Visit 
http://www.medtronic.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Medtronic/Website/StageArticle&ConditionName=Chronic+Back+and%2For+Leg+Pain&Stage=Treatment&Article=bpain_art_prepare

======================================================================

e) how it works (in layman's terms)

From the Medtronic website: "Neurostimulation is the stimulation of
the spinal cord by tiny electrical impulses. An implanted lead (a
flexible insulated wire), which is powered by an implanted battery or
receiver, is placed near your spinal cord. This lead and an implanted
neurostimulator send electrical impulses that block the pain messages
to your brain. Some patients describe the feeling of neurostimulation
as 'tingling.' You can also think of neurostimulation as the rubbing
of your 'funny bone' after you've bumped it. Rubbing masks the feeling
of pain just as the tingling produced by the neurostimulation system
masks the feeling of pain."

Medtronic: Neurostimulation
http://www.medtronic.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Medtronic/Website/StageArticle&ConditionName=Chronic+Back+and%2For+Leg+Pain&Stage=Treatment&Article=bpain_art_mdt_neurostim

======================================================================

More information on the Medtronic neurostimulator is available on the
company's two websites:

Medtronic, Inc.
http://www.medtronic.com/hic/pain.html

Tame the Pain Newsroom
http://www.tamethepainnewsroom.com

======================================================================

"Lewis said that doctors rushed to his bedside and told him they
wanted to attach a temporary neurostimulator to his back. The device
generates a tiny electric current that blocks a nerve's ability to
transmit pain.

For Lewis, the result was nothing short of a miracle. 'I got up, and
bang I was skipping all over the master bedroom.'

Five days later, Lewis had a permanent stimulator implanted. 'That was
April 20 [last year], that was the last day I had pain.'

Today, he carries a handheld device, which controls the amount of
neural stimulation he needs for pain relief. Lewis later became a paid
spokesman for the company that manufactures his implanted device."

CNN Health
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/08/29/hln.bio.jerry.lewis/index.html

======================================================================

"Jerry Lewis is one of about 110,000 Americans receiving pain relief
with the electrical stimulation devices made by Medtronic, a
Minneapolis-based company.

Lewis' fully implanted device, which is about the size of a heart
pacemaker, delivers low-voltage stimulation to his spinal cord. The
comedian says he suffered chronic pain, the result of numerous
pratfalls, for nearly 40 years until receiving the nerve stimulation
device in April.

The $12,000 device, usually placed under the skin of the abdomen,
contains a special battery to create electrical impulses. Patients may
briefly stay in the hospital after surgery to implant the device and
the connecting wires that carry the electrical impulses to the spinal
cord. It also can be removed if patients no longer want it.

Alternatively, patients can chose to wear a battery source outside the
body, eliminating the need for a surgical procedure to replace it when
it wears out."

Ride for Life
http://www.rideforlife.com/MT/archives/health_news/000220.html

======================================================================

"Then, he says, he began to fidget with impatience. 'I couldn't enjoy
my pain relief knowing that there are 75 million people in this
country in chronic pain. I couldn't ignore that,' says Lewis, who
turned 77 this month and never could sit still for long.

He contacted Medtronic, the world's biggest maker of pacemakers and
other implantable medical devices, and offered to be a spokesman for
the company, which makes and sells his particular neurostimulator.

...For more information on chronic pain and the organizations
available to help patients deal with it, as well as a list of
physicians specializing in pain therapies, go to www.tamethepain.com
."

Dallas/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/entertainment/5468748.htm

======================================================================

Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "jerry lewis" + "neurostimulator"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22jerry+lewis%22+neurostimulator

Google Web Search: "medtronic" + jerry lewis"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=medtronic+%22jerry+lewis

======================================================================

I hope this helps! Please keep in mind that Google Answers is not a
source of authoritative medical information, and the material I've
presented should not be regarded as a diagnosis or a substitute for a
visit to a qualified medical professional. If anything is unclear,
please request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance
before you rate my answer.

Best wishes,
pinkfreud

---

Request for Answer Clarification by alexandraroman-ga on 30 Aug 2003 12:01 PDT

Thanks very much for your quick response! Just one more thing. I
hadn't realized that Lewis is a spokesman for the company. I suppose
that I should have suspected. In doing your research, did you come
across any information that would suggest that this device is
something of a fraud perpetrated on desperate people, or even that it
might be dangerous in some way?

---

Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 30 Aug 2003 12:56 PDT

Although the fact that Jerry Lewis is a paid spokesman for the product
may seem a bit daunting, I haven't found any evidence that would lead
me to believe that the neurostimulator is unsafe or a fraud. Medicare
and many health insurance companies are willing to pay for this
treatment; it's not likely that this would be the case if the device
were dangerous or ineffective.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is an older,
similar concept in which an electrical device is not implanted, but
operates at a surface level. The use of TENS has long been accepted by
much of the medical community, and TENS is used in pain management
worldwide.

There is always some risk involved in any surgical procedure, and any
time a foreign object is implanted within the body there can be
complications, but in my research I didn't come across any "smoking
gun" that would indicate quackery or any kind of coverup of possible
dangers.

It may be worth noting that Jerry Lewis became the spokesman for
Medtronic AFTER he had obtained relief from the use of the product.
Apparently Jerry thought so highly of the neurostimulator that he
contacted the company to offer his services in order to promote the
device.

~pinkfreud

Thanks for your help.