With the next few weeks, the FDA is expected to issue its final approval of vagus nerve stimulation as a treatment for chronic or recurrent depression. The approval of vagus nerve stimulation will be the first ever FDA approved long-term treatment option for the four million desperate Americans (and their families) who have not had an adequate response to traditional anti-depressants.

When approved, this treatment will be considered the one of major breakthroughs in medical device history. The benefits of this therapy include:

• Vagus nerve stimulation is more effective than anti-depressants
• VNS does not have the side effects of antidepressants
• Compliance is guaranteed. Once the device is activated, no further action is required.
• Efficacy improves over time (“No Prozac poop out”)
• Quality-of-life benefits improve over time
• No drug interactions
• No cognitive impairment (i.e. memory loss)

Stimulation to the left vagus nerve has been proven to favorably modulate those areas of the brain that are responsible for mood and depression. The procedure is unrelated to brain surgery or electroconvulsive therapy. The stimulator is implanted in the patient’s upper left chest, just below the arm pit. A lead wire is then tunneled underneath the skin and coiled around the left vagus nerve in the neck. For cosmectic reasons, the incision is at the lowest fold of the patient’s neck. The scar heals very quickly and is barely noticeable as it is difficult to differentiate between the fold and the healed scar.

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