Key result
Dorsal root entry zone thermocoagulation provided complete and durable relief of phantom limb pain without recurrence over a 26-year follow-up period in a patient with brachial plexus avulsion.
Why the study?
Does DREZ thermocoagulation provide durable pain control in a patient with postamputation phantom limb syndrome and brachial plexus avulsion?
Case Report (n=1)
No
Does DREZ thermocoagulation provide durable pain control in a patient with postamputation phantom limb syndrome and brachial plexus avulsion?
DREZ thermocoagulation may provide highly durable pain control for postamputation phantom limb syndrome with brachial plexus avulsion, as demonstrated by a 26-year follow-up.
May support durable relief in refractory cases with avulsion; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective trials before wider use.
Brachial plexus avulsion and limb amputation are often associated with intractable chronic pain. Dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) thermocoagulation is an effective surgical treatment for upper-extremity deafferentation pain. The authors describe the clinical follow-up and imaging in a patient who underwent DREZ thermocoagulation 26 years ago for postamputation phantom limb syndrome with associated brachial plexus avulsion. This patient continues to have successful pain control without phantom limb sensation and has never experienced a recurrence of his left upper-extremity pain syndrome. This report lends credibility to the notion that, among ablative neurosurgical pain operations, DREZ thermocoagulation may provide the greatest durability of pain control.
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Tomycz et al. (2010) conducted a case report in Postamputation phantom limb syndrome and brachial plexus avulsion (n=1). Dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) thermocoagulation was evaluated on Pain relief and recurrence of phantom limb pain. Dorsal root entry zone thermocoagulation provided complete and durable relief of phantom limb pain without recurrence over a 26-year follow-up period in a patient with brachial plexus avulsion.
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