Causalgia of the Upper Extremity

Pain in an extremity resulting from an inadequate supply of arterial blood is a distressing symptom. Whether the ischemia results from vasomotor spasm (Raynaud's disease), intrinsic pathologic changes of the arterial wall (thrombo-angiitis obliterans, etc.) or traumatic severance of the main artery, the pain that results is much the same in character and constitutes the chief concern of the patient. Present day surgical treatment for ischemic pain is directed toward the abolition of the vasoconstrictor control of the vessels in the part involved. Adson and Brown,1in a recent contribution, dealt thoroughly with historic, theoretic and recent progress in the surgical treatment for vascular lesions, particularly Raynaud's disease. Suffice it to say that through the efforts of these authors and their associates, Raynaud's disease has joined the list of controllable maladies. The application of such principles in the treatment for pain in other circulatory conditions of the upper extremity