Bilateral pain relief after unilateral thoracic percutaneous sympathectomy.

摘要

PURPOSE: To present a case of unexpected bilateral pain relief following unilateral thoracic percutaneous sympathectomy. CLINICAL FINDINGS: We present a case report where severe ischemic pain due to paraneoplastic Raynaud's syndrome with distal gangrene was successfully treated by means of percutaneous thoracic sympathectomy. A unilateral T2, T3 radiofrequency sympathectomy combined with small volume phenol injection resulted in unexpected bilateral pain relief. CONCLUSION: Our observations from this case report suggest a possible crossover of sympathetic innervation at the cervical and thoracic levels. Percutanenous thoracic radiofrequency sympathectomy is a feasible option for the treatment of refractory ischemic upper limb pain.