The effect of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) for the treatment of supraorbital neuropathic pain: A report of three cases

Bae, Hyun Min; Kim, Young Hoon; Kim, Sang Wook; Moon, Dong Eon

Case Report

Spinal Pain

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2012;7(2):117-120.
Published online May 1, 2012.

The effect of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) for the treatment of supraorbital neuropathic pain: A report of three cases

Hyun Min Bae, Young Hoon Kim, Sang Wook Kim, Dong Eon Moon

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea. demoon@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

Historically, peripheral neuropathic pain has occasionally been difficult to treat. Both a systematic review of the evidence as well as clinical experience have demonstrated that treatment options including polypharmacy provide effective pain relief in only half of the patients with neuropathic pain. After peripheral nerve injury, the incidence of degenerative alterations in the spinal cord and central pathologic sensitization are possible. Due to this observation, It may be difficult to treat this group of patients with peripheral neuropathic pain by therapeutic intervention of the peripheral nerve. Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) has several benefits for treatment of this condition including, accuracy and safety, and the elimination of thermal lesions due to the reduction in the target tissue temperature (below 42 degrees). We treated three cases of supraorbital neuropathic pain using PRF, and discovered that two of the patients had significant pain relief at the six month time point.

Key Words: Central sensitization, Peripheral neuropathy, Pulsed radiofrequency, Supraorbital neuropathic pain