Craig Hospital - Rehabilitative Neurosurgery - Scott P Falci M.D.
Spinal Cord Injury Pain and Surgical Interventions
Craig Hospital does not have a formal
pain management program for patients with low back pain or other sources of pain
that are not spinal cord injury related. We also do not admit inpatients or
outpatients with a primary diagnosis of pain, or need for primary pain management
services. However, central deafferent or neurogenic pain can occur following
spinal cord injury. These are pains
generated by the injured spinal cord itself. Following spinal
cord injury, patients can experience pain in areas of the body
where they do not have normal sensation. These pains can occur
anywhere at or below the level of injury. Patients classically
describe these pains as burning, stinging, stabbing, electrical,
sharp, shooting and/or squeezing, tight, pressure, and vise-like.
These pains may present at or very near the time of the injury
or may occur later (one to many years after the time of injury).
The first line of treatment for these kinds of pains is medication.
Typically antidepressants or antiseizure medications are used
to treat these pains. If medication is not successful, neurosurgical
intervention may be appropriate.
Surgical Interventions for Pain
- Computer-Assisted Dorsal Root Entry Zone Microcoagulation (CA- DREZ): This surgery is performed on the paraplegic population for burning, sharp, electrical, stabbing, pins-and-needles, and "aching" pains which occur at or below the level of injury. It involves electrical recording inside the spinal cord at the time of surgery to identify regions of abnormally active pain-producing nerve cells. These abnormal nerve cells are then destroyed with radio frequency heat lesions.
- Spinal Cord Untethering and/or Cyst Shunting: In some patients, the presence of "tethering" or scarring of
the spinal cord, or the presence of a cyst or syrinx within the
spinal cord causes abnormal activity of pain-producing nerve cells
within the spinal cord. Surgical release of the scar tissue (spinal
cord untethering) alone or in addition to drainage of the cyst
(cyst shunting) may lead to pain relief.
Contact Dr. Falci
If you would like to make a referral to Dr. Falci, want further
information, or have questions, please call Charlotte Indeck, RN at
Dr. Falci’s office at 303-761-5281 or e-mail cindeck@craighospital.org. Because of the high volume of requests and our busy surgery schedule,
please allow several days to hear back. If your request requires a
quicker response, please indicate that when you call. If you are
having a medical emergency, call 911.
|
