[From wheelchair dependency to the ability to walk: lumbar sympathectomy as a treatment for complex regional pain syndrome].

A 34-year-old woman developed walking disability with wheelchair dependency for more than 2 years due to chronic regional pain syndrome type II (CRPS II) in the feet. After excluding neurological and vascular disease, lumbar sympathectomy was performed on both sides. Surgical treatment was uneventful, and the patient's symptoms dramatically improved after 2 months. She is now able to walk some 500 m. This case illustrates the fact that surgical lumbar sympathectomy is an effective alternative or adjunct treatment even in fixed CRPS II.