Functional neurosurgery in the treatment of chronic pain: A review
Abstract
Surgical treatment becomes a current issue when conservative treatments are insufficient in the treatment of chronic and refractory pain. With surgical treatments, conduction of pain and its perception by the central nervous system are inhibited by neuroablative, neurostimulative methods and techniques such as provision of pain relief with the use of reservoirs and pumps. Among commonly applied neurosurgical procedures for this purpose are microvascular decompression, DREZ (dorsal root entry zone) lesioning, open or percutaneous cervical chordotomy, radiofrequency thermocoagulation, implantation of morphine reservoir and stimulator. With improvement of technical apparatus and equipment and with stereotactic and endoscopic advances the tolerability of surgical treatments has increased.
Description
Keywords
carbamazepine , contrast medium , glycerol , morphine , analgesia , balloon occlusion , brain depth stimulation , cancer pain , chronic pain , conservative treatment , cordotomy , decompression surgery , dorsal root entry zone lesioning , electrostimulation , endoscopic surgery , headache , human , hypophysectomy , implantation , interventional radiology , microvascular surgery , nerve stimulation , neurosurgery , nociception , postoperative complication , radiofrequency , review , stereotaxic surgery , surgical approach , surgical technique , sympathectomy , thermocoagulation , transcutaneous nerve stimulation , treatment indication , trigeminus neuralgia