BACKGROUND: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication following an episode of acute herpes zoster. The curative effect of current treatments is limited. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this paper is to report a new treatment for PHN with a combination of dorsal root entry zone lesion (DREZotomy) and spinal cord stimulation (SCS). METHODS: Microsurgical DREZotomy assisted with SCS for target localization was performed in 6 patients with PHN. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the pain pre- and postoperatively. RESULTS: Except for 1 patient, in whom the test SCS was unsatisfactory, all patients finally underwent DREZotomy. These 5 patients experienced apparent symptom relief postoperatively, and the VAS score decreased from a baseline of 8.4 ± 1.14 to 2.4 ± 1.14 (p = 0.0020) and did not change significantly during the follow-up of up to 24 months. CONCLUSIONS: Microsurgical DREZotomy assisted with SCS for target localization is an effective remedy for PHN.
BACKGROUND: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication following an episode of acute herpes zoster. The curative effect of current treatments is limited. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this paper is to report a new treatment for PHN with a combination of dorsal root entry zone lesion (DREZotomy) and spinal cord stimulation (SCS). METHODS: Microsurgical DREZotomy assisted with SCS for target localization was performed in 6 patients with PHN. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the pain pre- and postoperatively. RESULTS: Except for 1 patient, in whom the test SCS was unsatisfactory, all patients finally underwent DREZotomy. These 5 patients experienced apparent symptom relief postoperatively, and the VAS score decreased from a baseline of 8.4 ± 1.14 to 2.4 ± 1.14 (p = 0.0020) and did not change significantly during the follow-up of up to 24 months. CONCLUSIONS: Microsurgical DREZotomy assisted with SCS for target localization is an effective remedy for PHN.