Electrophrenic respiration in patients with high quadriplegia.

After determining that 15 patients with high spinal cord injuries who were permanently apneic had viable phrenic nerves, electrophrenic respiration units were implanted. Thirteen of the patients (86%) achieved full-time respiration and two more achieved half-time respiration. Despite the loss of 8 patients to unrelated problems, 7 now use electrophrenic respiration continuously, one having done so for 16 years. The patient selection criteria, neurophysiological evaluation method, surgical procedure, postoperative care, and methods for diagnosis of system failures are presented. A comparison of the cervical and thoracic procedures is made. The cervical approach is preferred. Complications consisted primarily of equipment failures. For the external components there were several cases of antenna connection and battery connection failures. The implanted receivers failed in 6 cases with an average lifetime of 48 months, ranging from 24 to 108 months. In one case fibrosis around the electrode resulted in failure to stimulate the phrenic nerve effectively. In another case, infection required removal of the system which was reimplanted later and has continued to provide successful ventilation.