Facet Rhizotomy Surgery

[Guest guest]

Debbie,

You wrote, " My husband has chronic pancreatitis. Re: Rhizotomy of the Facet

Nerves:

1) How long is the recovery time ...off of work? 2) How long is the expected

pain relief? "

I have never had a Rhizotomy, nor any pancreatic nerve block for that matter.

My surgeon, who I keep calling every time I hear of a new block tells me to

give it up. His experience is that they really are not very successful, unless

you feel that the short term relief is worth the pain of the block and you are

willing to undergo the procedure for the rest of your life. Knowing my pain

tolerance, he told me to not even consider it. many of these blocks require the

patient to be awake. Which means you also have to be still, and I wiggle,

when I am just sitting.

There are a handful of members on this board that feel certain blocks work

very well for them and they do not mind repeating them every six weeks, or

whatever duration they use. I know that E in New York couldn't get by without

them.

It certainly sounds like your husband has had his fair share of nerve block

trials. Some doctors say that when there have been that many unsuccessful

attempts the patient really isn't a candidate for pain management with blocks.

There are different philosophies regarding pain management: No Medication

Management / Interventional Management Only, Others focus on Pain Medication

Management along with a selection of other medications when used together act as

an

adjunct to the narcotics. Some clinics do both. Almost every pain clinic should

incorporate nutrition, exercise, and cognitive therapy with whatever mode they

use.

I did a search re: Rhizotomy of the Facet Nerve. Here is what I found, mostly

on Web MD:

Rhizotomy: The operation of cutting the anterior or posterior spinal nerve

roots

Facet Joints:The bony protrusions on the back of each vertebra. The vertebrae

are connected by the spinal discs in the front and facet joints in the back

of the spine.

Facet Nerves:The two nerves that connect the back of the facet joints of the

vertebra of the spine.

Possible side effects of the Rhizotomy of the Facet Nerve include pain at the

injection site, infection, excessive bleeding, nerve damage, or spinal cord

inflammation (chemical meningitis).

Prognosis of the Rhizotomy of the Facet Nerve: When used to treat chronic low

back pain, facet injection is no more effective than a placebo injection.1

1 (Van Tulder M, Koes B (2002). Low Back Pain & Sciatica. Clinical Evidence

(8):1171-1187.

Based on this information it may behoove you to make an appointment with

another pancreatologist & pain management specialist and see what their

evaluation

reveals.

Is your husband a diabetic? How long has he had pancreatitis? Where do you

live? Can you travel? What was his initial diagnostic workup? In the early

stages of pancreatiitis therte are many more options.

Karyn E. , RN

Executive Director, PAI

http://www.pancassociation.org

Pancreatitis Association International