• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
• /
• 제8권1호
• /
• pp.10-14
• /
• 1999

Ear reconstruction is very difficult to perform and often results in a devastating deformity. The use of microsurgical replantation techniques has allowed very favorable anesthetic results. We report a case of a partial ear replantation without venous repair with the use of medicinal leeches to decompress the acute venous congestion during the postoperative care. The medicinal leech therapy can be very useful in a partial ear replantation in cases with no venous repair.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• 제10권1호
• /
• pp.134-137
• /
• 1997

We report a case of cauda equine syndrome following caudal anesthesia possibly caused by metastatic spine tumor. Male, 80-year-old, who had prostatic carcinoma with $L_3$ and $L_4$ spine metastasis was scheduled for bilateral orchiectomy. Twenty two-gauge needle was introduced at sacral hiatus and 15 ml of 2% lidocaine administered. The next morning, patient complained of perineal numbness and urination difficulty. During the next several day patient had episodes of fecal incontinence and motor weakness on both lower extremities. This case reminded us that neuroaxial blocks such as spinal, epidural and caudal anesthesia, should be used with extreme care in patients having neoplasm with high incidence of spine metastasis.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• 제10권1호
• /
• pp.121-123
• /
• 1997

Stellate ganglion block(SGB) is frequently performed to relieve a patient from headache of various. We experienced a rare case of subarachnoid hemorrhage by aneurysmal rupture after SGB. A 46-year-old female patient diagnosed with tension headache, and normal MRI finding consulted our pain clinic. We performed right SGB in combination with greater occipital nerve block. The next day, we performed left SGB with 6 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine. She had no evidence of subarachnoid block or intravascular injection. 15 minutes after injection, she abruptly developed convulsion and loss of consciousness. She was given artificial respiration with oxygen. The diagnosis of ruptured left posterior communicating aneurysm was confirmed by 4-vessels angiography.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• 제10권1호
• /
• pp.109-112
• /
• 1997

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension(SIH) is a rare syndrome of spontaneously occurring postural headache associated with low CSF pressure. It usually occur without evidence of any preceeding events such as lumbar puncture, back trauma, operative procedure, or medical illness. This syndrome usually resolves spontaneously or with strict bed rest. When the headache persists or is incapacitating, more aggressive treatment may be necessary. Autologous epidural blood patch is highly effective in the management of SIH. We experienced a case of SIH with downward displacement of brain in MRI and successfully treated with epidural blood patch.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• 제10권1호
• /
• pp.104-108
• /
• 1997

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension, a syndrome of low CSF pressure, occurs without preceding events such as lumbar puncture, back trauma, operative procedure or medical illness. The most characteristic symptom is an occipital or frontal headache which is aggrevated in the erect position and relieved in the supine position. This syndrome usually resolves spontaneously or with strict bed rest. When the headach persists or is incapacitating, more aggressive treatment may be necessary. Autologous epidural blood patch is highly effective in the management of spontaneous intracranial hypotension. Epidural blood produces an organized clot which effectively tamponade any dural CSF leak. The rapid relief of headache immediately after the infusion of blood occur by some other mechanism, such as an increase in subarachnoid pressure that is known to occur with infusion of fluid into the lumbar epidural space. We report three cases of spontaneous intracranial hypotension successfully treated with epidural blood patch.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• 제13권1호
• /
• pp.115-118
• /
• 2000

Stellate ganglion block is most commonly used in pain clinic because it is an easy procedure and it has broad indications reported that Angina pectoris, tachyarrhythmia and long QT syndrome (LQTS) are indicated. LQTS is a disorder of the abnormalities of cardiac sympathetic innervation and of myocardial repolarization. LQTS is characterized by marked prolongation of the QT interval, often manifestating as syncope, seizures, or sudden death due to polymorphic ventricular tachyarrhythmia known as torsades de pointes. Treatment of symptomatic patients usually begin with beta blocker. The elective treatment of LQTS patients unresponsive to beta blocker is the left cardiac sympathetic denervation. We report a case of LQTS patient who had received stellate ganglion block.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• 제11권1호
• /
• pp.113-115
• /
• 1998

Dysmenorrhea(cyclic pain associated with menses) is a frequent disorder, with as many as 50% of young women experiencing the symptom, and up to 10% being unable to function normally for some time each month. The most recent theory of the cause of the pain of dysmenorrhea incriminates uterine ischemia and sensitization of uterine pain fibers resulting from excessive myometrial contractility after prostaglandin stimulation. We administered stellate ganglion block for the treatment of dysmenorrhea and had good results in two cases. From our experience, we recommend the stellate ganglion block may be an effective treatment for a dysmenorrhea.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• 제11권1호
• /
• pp.116-118
• /
• 1998

Stellate ganglion block(SGB) is frequently performed in pain clinics. Facial palsy produces asymmetry of the face, lagophthalmos and incomplete eyelid closure. Exposure keratitis and eyeball pain can be induced by prolonged lagophthalmos. SGB was performed on a 51-year-old female patient who had exposure of keratitis and eyeball pain due to facial nerve palsy after an operation for chronic otitis media. After 31 stellate ganglion blocks, eyeball pain and keratitis nearly subsided. SGB is an effective method to treat lagophthalmos caused by facial nerve palsy.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• 제11권1호
• /
• pp.155-159
• /
• 1998

Epidural neurolysis with phenol has appeared in literature since 1960. Complications due to accidental subdural block is a rare and unexpected sensory and/or motor disturbance, but it does occur. A 74 years old woman had postherpectic neuralgia for 3 weeks and VAS score of 10. She was treated with intercostal nerve block and intravenous infusion of lidocaine for 7 days and VAS score decreased to 6. To proceed further, we decided to perform epidural neurolysis with 4% phenol 1.5 ml. During thoracic epidural catherization, we encountered unexpected subdural catheterization in subdurographic finding, but we could not precisely rule out subdural catheterization. We had to check CT for exact location of catheter tip. We then performed subdural neurolysis with phenol. This procedure reduced VAS score to between 3 and 4, and we removed the catheter. She had no complication.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• 제11권1호
• /
• pp.65-68
• /
• 1998

Background: Epidural steroid injection(ESI) is often adminstered to treat lower back pain, but its effect iveness on postepidural backache have not yet been determined. Methods: Sixty patients scheduled for cesarean section under epidural anesthesia were randomly assigned to receive, 1 ml of normal saline(Group 1), or 5 mg of dexamethasone (Group 2), epidurally via indwelling catheter after delivery. Results: The incidences of postepidural backache occured significantly more often in Group 1(56.7%) than in Group 2(26.7%)(P<0.05). There was a significant association between postepidural backache and multiple attempts at epidural needle placement. Conclusion: Epidural dexamethasone has a preventive effect on postepidural backache.