Ralph Seed’s life has been transformed after a pioneering new medical device was implanted in his spine
14:50, 23 Jul 2026Updated 15:54, 23 Jul 2026
(Image: Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)
A Washington teenager was in so much pain that he was looking into the prospect of having his foot amputated. But now, after becoming the first under-18 in the UK to have a pioneering spinal cord implant fitted, he’s pain-free for the first time in years and set – this weekend – to head on a mammoth European road trip.
Ralph Seed, 18, has spent five years in agony. But a fortnight ago, a team at Newcastle’s Great North Children’s Hospital completed a procedure which has seen an electrode attached near to his spinal cord and a battery implanted which allows that electrode to send “pulses”.
As soon as this was switched on, Ralph’s pain vanished. He told ChronicleLive; “Unfortunately I have a rare condition called Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome – and for me it affects me left foot. Pretty much any time anything came into contact with it, it would decide to hurt and it would be this awful burning sensation.
Surgeons operating on Ralph Seed, a teenager who is the first in the UK to have a new implant (Image: Newcastle Hospitals)
“This is something I have had for about four years- and it’s been such an unfortunate journey. But I was referred to the RVI and now I have been coming here for a long time.”
He added: “The results have been outstanding. It’s been two weeks now and I don’t think it’s really hit me. To have four years of pain gone – I can’t put it into words. To come from a place where even simple things like putting socks on were such a challenge, it’s amazing.”
Ralph continued: “I’m hoping the implant is going to help me get my life back again. I kept going, but I couldn’t plan before as I had to think about how I would cope with pain. Now I am planning my future working with cars and going on a road trip with my family.”
Ralph’s mum Tara Walton added: “The whole journey to get here has been quite something. It’s been four years and the amount of things we have tried – it’s amazing that Ralph has kept going. Nothing was working, but to see this work and the look of relief on his face was amazing.”
Ralph Seed, 18, with consultant Dr Sachin Rastogi(Image: Newcastle Hospitals)
Tara added: “It’s really so special to see him smiling again. Ralph has been through so much but throughout he’s had a great attitude, he’s continued to go to school, pushing himself further. He’s been so determined to keep going, showing such resilience passing his GCSEs and going to college.”
Tara said that the care at the RVI had been “absolutely brilliant from the first day we got here”. Ralph himself added heartfelt thanks to his treatment team. He added: “I can’t thank them enough. I owe them absolutely everything.”
Now, Ralph is able to, in Dr Rastogi’s words, “get on with his life”. The top consultant who specialises in treating pain, added: “This pain was stopping him from doing pretty much whatever he would be trying to do.
“It’s an extreme pain reaction that doesn’t switch off. The nervous system reaction is very extreme. It’s quite a mysterious condition – along with the pain it can cause a bundle of different things – it can cause it [the limb] to change colour, it can go hot or cold, it can cause bleeding.”
Teenager Ralph Seed and his mum Tara Walton, who is the first in the UK to have pioneering implant, ending years of living with intense pain in his foot(Image: Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)
For Ralph, this even manifested itself in bleeding when he was simply trying to cut his toenails. Dr Rastogi added: “Chronic pain in children is much more common than most people realise. But Ralph has an exceptionally severe type of chronic pain.
“When we met him, we did the conventional treatments – but despite our best efforts his pain continued to be really significant and it was having a really negative impact on him. This was on his education, his social life, his mood. And for a young person these are really formative years.”
The medic added that seeing the implant work had been an incredible moment, adding: “We turned it on and it was the first time in five years that Ralph wasn’t feeling pain in his foot.”
Dr Rastogi was joined by neurosurgeon Mr Mohammed Akbar Hussain to fit the implant. Mr Hussain is the medical director of the NCNN and previously told ChronicleLive about the life-changing, radical medical technology being used in this city.
Dr Rastogi said the results of Ralph’s procedure had been “immediate and unprecedented”. He added: “Seeing the impact of being pain-free for Ralph is simply one of the most moving things I have experienced in my career.
“This type of closed-loop spinal cord stimulation hasn’t been done in the UK before in an adolescent patient with this type of pain. The response has been so dramatic and that is likely to do with his nervous system being young and highly adaptable.”
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