00:02You know, Ralph, before we switched the device on, you said the pain score out of 10 was
00:06about 7 out of 10, it was quite bad.
00:08Now, having switched it on, programmed it, could you give us a score out of 10 now?
00:13Uh, zero.
00:14Zero.
00:14Zero.
00:15Zero?
00:15Zero.
00:16No pain.
00:16No pain.
00:17Not my foot.
00:18Yeah, and the collars come back.
00:19Collars went back.
00:20And you've been moving it.
00:21I've been moving it.
00:22And that's stuff that was not happening before.
00:24It was not, no.
00:26How does that make you feel?
00:26Nice man.
00:27Yeah.
00:28That's pretty rare.
00:30Um, yeah, amazing.
00:32Amazing.
00:33Very, very thankful.
00:34Well, Ollie is as well.
00:35Ollie is.
00:36For five years, Ralph Seed has lived with severe pain caused by complex regional pain syndrome,
00:43making even the lightest touch unbearable.
00:46Now, after becoming the first teenager in the UK to receive this type of closed-loop spinal
00:52cord stimulation implant, he says he is pain-free for the first time since his symptoms began.
00:59For some time, Ralph researched further into amputation of his own foot in order to deal with the pain he
01:06was experiencing.
01:07But as a result of this pioneering project, Ralph has become the first teenager in the UK to have a
01:15pain-relieving implant fitted to his spinal cord in order to ease the agonizing condition.
01:21Ralph, who was originally from Washington in Tynanwia, will now continue rehabilitation with physiotherapy and psychological support as specialists monitor
01:31his recovery, movement and long-term pain relief.
01:35Yeah.
01:39That feels good.
01:40Yeah.
01:41Yeah.
01:43Yeah.
01:43Tell me how that feels.
01:45Oh, nice.
01:46Where are you feeling it?
01:47Uh, foot.
01:48The whole of your foot?
01:49Yeah.
01:50And is it a comfortable tingling sensation?
01:53Yeah.
01:55Excellent.
01:56Oh.
01:58You missed that feeling?
01:59Yeah.
02:01The implant works by sending gentle electrical pulses to the spinal cord, disrupting pain signals before they reach the brain.
02:09Unlike earlier technology, the closed-loop system responds to the body's own signals, adjusting stimulation as Ralph moves.
02:16The treatment was offered after medication, physiotherapy, psychological support and other interventions failed to control his pain.
02:24Newcastle Hospitals says this is the first time the technology has been used in the UK for an adolescent with
02:30this type of condition.
02:32Dr. Sachin Rastogi, consultant anaesthetist who specializes in pain, joined Mr. Akbar Hussain, a functional neurosurgeon.
02:41Dr. Rastogi said the results were immediate and unprecedented for a device like this.
02:47He added that seeing the impact of being pain-free for Ralph is simply one of the most moving things
02:53I have experienced in my career.
