Sympathetic Blocks
Lumbar sympathetic blocks
Injection needles will be positioned and then there are three main ways to produce the block: injection of a long acting local anaesthetic to produce a diagnostic block to safely see if your pain can be treated this way; injection of a neurolytic substance such as phenol or alcohol to destroy the lumbar sympathetic nerves; and the use of radiofrequency energy to similarly destroy the nerves in a highly controlled way.
Stellate ganglion blocks
The stellate ganglion is a collection of autonomic sympathetic nerves, which lies in front of the spine at the level of your larynx. It can be a site where pain signals from the face, heart, or arm are processed. It can therefore sometimes be useful to block it.
Injection needles will be positioned and then there are three main ways to produce the block: injection of a long acting local anaesthetic to produce a diagnostic block to safely see if your pain can be treated this way; injection of a neurolytic substance such as phenol or alcohol to destroy the lumbar sympathetic nerves; and the use of radiofrequency energy to similarly destroy the nerves in a highly controlled way.
Stellate ganglion blocks
The stellate ganglion is a collection of autonomic sympathetic nerves, which lies in front of the spine at the level of your larynx. It can be a site where pain signals from the face, heart, or arm are processed. It can therefore sometimes be useful to block it.
