Is the substantia gelatinosa the target in dorsal root entry zone lesions? An autopsy report.

The autopsy findings in a patient who died from a massive myocardial infarction 5 days after a cervical DREZ lesion for deafferentation pain are reported. The trauma had caused a substantial defect involving the ipsilateral Lissauer's tract and the substantia gelatinosa, as well as more medial parts of the posterior horn. The positive effect of the radiofrequency coagulation must have been caused by a lesion outside Lissauer's tract and the substantia gelatinosa.