BACKGROUND: The results of 51 cases of trial spinal cord stimulation which had been carried out for relief of intractable pain were analyzed. METHODS: Most patients were referred due to failure of conventional pain treatment modalities. They consisted of 35 men and 16 women, ranging in age from 21 to 74 years. In 17 cases pain was associated with postherpetic neuralgia, 14 with failed back surgery syndrome, 3 with cauda equina syndrome, 3 with reflex sympathetic dystrophy, 3 with spinal cord injury, 2 with brachial plexus injury, 2 with torticollis, 2 with vertebral injury, 1 with phantom limb pain, 1 with myelitis, 1 with paraplegia, 1 with low back pain, and 1 with cancer metastasis to the vertebra. An electrode tip was positioned at varying sites from C1-2 to T11 dictated by the location of pain. T3, T6, and T8 were the most frequent sites. RESULTS: Pain due to postherpetic neuralgia, failed back surgery syndrome, cauda equina syndrome, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, and brachial plexus injury was well controlled. Noticeable complications included wound infection and electrode displacement. Following a trial period of stimulation, 10 patients had permanent stimulators implanted, while one patient died as a result of unrelated causes. CONCLUSIONS: We may suggest that spinal cord stimulation represents a useful technique in a well- selected group of patients with no other treatment options.