BACKGROUND: Gastroparesis is characterized by delayed gastric emptying and can cause abdominal pain, nausea, impaired oral intake, and reduced quality of life (QoL).

CASE REPORT: We describe spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in a patient with chronic idiopathic gastroparesis, intractable nausea, epigastric pain, severe food intolerance, and poor nutrition. She presented after multiple treatments, including gastric electrical stimulation, had failed to provide lasting relief. A celiac plexus block briefly improved her symptoms. High thoracic SCS was subsequently trialed and implanted, with reported improvement in pain, nausea, and oral intake at 1 month, and continued food tolerance without early satiety at 1 year post-implantation.

CONCLUSIONS: SCS was associated with improvement in symptoms and quality of life in this patient. Longer follow-up and further study are needed to evaluate its role in refractory gastroparesis.

KEYWORDS: Case report; gastroparesis; spinal cord stimulation; neuromodulation; epigastric pain