Relief of post-herpetic neuralgia by surgical removal of painful skin

We present a case of longstanding PHN treated by skin excision of the area of greatest pain (11.3 x 26.0 cm(2)). The operation reduced pain, eliminated tactile allodynia, and facilitated greatly reduced medication use over a 1-year follow-up period. Fourteen punch biopsies and 10 strips of skin (each 10 mm long) from the excised painful PHN skin were qualitatively assessed by double-label immunofluorescence using antibodies against protein-gene-product 9.5 (PGP9.5), 200 kDa neurofilament protein (NF), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and vanilloid receptor-1 (VR-1). Compared with a punch biopsy from mirror image skin, the pattern of cutaneous innervation in PHN skin was consistently and substantially different. The results may explain the anatomical basis of the capsaicin-response test and have implications for our understanding of clinical mechanisms underlying PHN pain.