[Selective percutaneous dorsal root ganglion radiofrequency thermocoagulation guided by CT scanning in treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia].
OBJECTIVE
To present the experience in a technique used to treat intractable postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)-percutaneous dorsal root ganglion (DGR) radiofrequency thermocoagulation guided by CT scanning.


METHODS
Sixteen PHN patients underwent puncture of radiohealing needle into the superior 1/3 of the corresponding intervertebral foramen guided by CT. Electric stimulation test and impedance test were conducted to confirm the right spot. Radiofrequency heat coagulation therapy under the condition of 90 degrees C 90 s was performed for 3 cycles. Then mixture of betamethasone and lidocain was injected and the needle was pulled out. CT was conducted to observe if pneumothorax occurred. The patients were followed up for 2-16 months.


RESULTS
Radiofrequency thermocoagulation was performed on 45 target dorsal root ganglia in 16 PHN patients with the effect of immediate disappearance of hyperalgesia. Remaining spontaneous pain was seen in 5 cases, however, with decreases of attack frequency and severity. The visual analogue pain scale score was decreased from 7-9 before the procedure to 2-3 after the procedure. No relapse was found during the follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
Selective percutaneous DRG radiofrequency thermocoagulation guided by CT scanning is effective in treatment of PHN.
Huang
Bing
B
Department of Anesthesiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing Medical College, Jiaxing 314000, China.
Zhou
Xu-Yan
XY
Lu
Ya-Ping
YP
Zhu
Ze-Feng
ZF
Hou
Jian
J
Sun
Jian-Liang
JL
Xie
Guo-Shui
GS
Zhu
Sheng-Mei
SM
Zheng
Han-Guang
HG