Identification and management of deep brain stimulation intra- and postoperative urgencies and emergencies

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been increasingly utilized for the therapeutic treatment of movement disorders, and with the advent of this therapy more postoperative urgencies and emergencies have emerged. In this paper, we will review, identify, and suggest management strategies for both intra- and postoperative urgencies and emergencies. We have separated the scenarios into 1 – surgery/procedure related, 2 – hardware related, 3 – stimulation-induced difficulties, and 4 – others. We have included ten illustrative (and actual) case vignettes to augment the discussion of each issue.