• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.367-370
• /
• 1995

We experienced two case of persistent Horner's syndrome which might be side effect of stellate ganglin block(SGB). Case one, a 35 year old male patient with severe pain and hyperesthesia of the right thumb. We performed repeated SGB with 1% mepivacaine 5 ml on the right side daily. After 9 times of SGB, he had continued ptosis, photophobia for one month and miosis for 6 months. Second case, the patients was a 21 year old male. He visited at our pain clinic to be cured of both sudden deafness which had begun two week ago. We performed SGB on both sides alternatively twice a day. About a week later, hearing ability of the left ear was recovered. After then we performed SGB only the right side. 34 SGB was performed in two months after that he got persistent Horner's syndrome.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.113-116
• /
• 1997

Sensorineural hearing loss(SNHL) is defined as a sudden hearing impairment which was develope over a period of hours to days. The definitive cause of SNHL is unknown in most cases. Disturbance of the blood flow of the inner ear is a main causal hypotheses. Most symptomatic treatment is focusing to improving the blood flow of the inner ear. At our hospital, most patients are recommended to bed rest, vasodilators(nicotinic acid, antihistamines) and stellate ganglion block(SGB) for two weeks. We experienced two cases of recurrence immediately after recovery from SNHL. They discontinued SGB after initial recovery. due to associated pain with operation and or psychologic stress. One patient resumed SGB and medication treatment, but the second who gave up treatment was not recovered. Therefore, we recommend to continuance of treatment of stellate ganglion blocks to improve recovery rate of SNHL and avoid further trauma and psychologic stress during the recovery period of SNHL.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.93-97
• /
• 2001

Facial nerve palsy is not a serious disease, but it can be both upsetting and disabling for patients. More than half of the lesions of facial nerve palsy fall into the category termed Bell's palsy. It is very rare to find a representative case of bilateral Bell's palsy. Here we report the changes of infrared thermographic findings in bilateral Bell's palsy treated with a stellate ganglion block (SGB). A 45-year-old female patient who had a right facial palsy which developed 2 weeks before. Steroid administration and acupuncture was not effective and so she was referred to pain clinic. The right facial palsy was cured after 19th right SGB. Twenty eight days after the onset of the right facial palsy, left facial palsy also developed and cured completely with a left SGB. Serial infrared thermograms were performed. The hypothermias on the affected side improved symmetrically by the end of the treatment.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.115-118
• /
• 2006

Among the sympathetic blocks used to treat various symptoms and diseases, including sympathetic dysfunction in pain clinics, a stellate ganglion block (SGB) is one of the easiest to apply. However, it is difficult to evaluate the effects of SGB due to the subjective nature of patient-reported data. A 26-year-old female, who presented with symptoms of coldness and sweating on both hands, received SGB 25 times on each side over a 2-month period. The effects of SGB were followed up using a cold stress test with thermography. Although the symptoms appeared again after 6 months, the recovery rate of the palmar temperature after the cold stress test improved significantly and was maintained for 18 months.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.326-331
• /
• 1998

Facial nerve paralysis is a common pain clinical diagnosis. But ipsilateral or contralateral recurrent facial paralysis is found in about 2.6~19.5% of facial paralysis and especially bilateral facial paralysis is rare. While idiopathic facial paralysis is the most common diagnosis, a comprehensive evaluation must be completed prior to this diagnosis in patients with bilateral facial paralysis. A representative case of bilateral alternating facial paralysis treated with stellate ganglion block (SGB) is presented. A 57 years old male patient who had the onset of a right facial paralysis 7 months ago visited pain clinic. Five months after the onset of right facial paralysis, as it was improving, he developed a left facial paralysis. He had history of hypertension, diabetus mellitus and pain episode on mastoid process before facial paralysis developed. Electrical test showed incomplete neuropathy on both side and computed tomography (CT) scan was normal. He was treated with SGB, physical theraphy and aspirin medication. After 25 times SGB, he was recovered almost completely.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.175-180
• /
• 1994

The impact of cardiovascular changes occurred by endotracheal intubation is risky for patients with ischemic heart disease, or intracranial pathologic conditions typically impairing cerebral autoregulatory mechanisms. Therefore, multiple approaches have been utilized to limit the impact of intubation and reduce damage of central nervous and cardiovascular systems. These approaches include modifications in intubation technique to diminish circulatory stimuli and pharmacologic modifications of either the sensory afferent path or the circulatory response itself. We tried the stellate ganglion block, a kind of sympathetic block, for the same purpose and evaluated the results. The results of study are as follows, 1) Blood pressure and heart rate increased significantly after intubation as compared with preintubation in both control group and SGB group. 2) The difference of the two groups is not found. We conclude the above method does not control cardiovascular consequences of endotracheal intubation.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.187-190
• /
• 1996

Facial nerve palsy is not an uncommon disease encountered at the department of otolaryngology or pain clinic. It usually occurs following viral infection(Bell's palsy, BP). However, it is rare to develop bilaterally, and that not simultaneously. We experienced a rare case of bilateral facial nerve palsy. Patient first experienced left side paralysis, then right side paralysis approximately two months later. We treated the patient with serial bilateral stellate ganglion blocks(SGB). When left side paralysis improved, we performed unilatertal SGB for right side paralysis. Patient was also treated with intermittent electro-acupuncture stimulations, to right side first, then left side. Four months of treatment provided good results. This may be the first case, in Korea, of facial nerve paralysis bilaterally within a certain interval, treated with serial SGB and electro-acupuncture stimulation. However, the etiology of this bilateral BP was not fully confirmed as being a cause of viral origin.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.78-81
• /
• 1995

We evaluated the effects of the stellate ganglion block(SGB) on the palmar hyperhidrosis. Ten patients of the palmar hyperhidrosis were taken right and left SGBs, 15 times on each side, total of 30 times, with 1% mepivacaine HCl 5 ml, with no discrimination on sex and age. Although there was a little decrease in the frequency of perspirations on 2 patients after the 15th block, no difference was noted after the overall 30th block at them. None of all 10 patients was satisfied symptomatically and no evidence of decreasing perspiration was found. Conclusively it seems that SGB with 1% mepivacaine HCl 5 ml is not an adequate therapy on the palmar hyperhidrosis even though it diminishes perspiration transiently.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.124-126
• /
• 1995

Atopic allergy implies a familial tendency to manifest alone or in combination such as asthma, rhinitis, urticaria and atopic dermatitis. The patient with atopic dermatitis shows a variety of humoral and cell-mediated immune dysfunction, including an elevation of serum IgE level, multiple positive immediate skin tests to a variety of antigen. A 30 year old female patient suffering from an atopic dermatitis on face, has been administered a stellate ganglion block(SGB) with a 1% mepivacaine 5cc. She complained of bronchial hyperresponsivness such as cough, soreness, and inspiration difficulty for 5 days following the treatment, so we have reduced 1% mepivacaine dose from 5cc to 3cc. She had no complain of bronchial hyperresponsivenss and the lesion of atopic dermatitis was improved. From our result we conclude that SGB appears to be a good choice for the treatment of the atopic dermatitis and only 1% mepivacaine 3cc is possible in complete SGB.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.164-167
• /
• 1995

Stellate ganglion block(SGB) is a widely used sympathetic block to diagnose or treat various painful conditions. We experienced a rare case who exhihited a contralateral Horner's syndrome following SGB. A 64-year-old female patient suffering from postherpetic neuralgia on mandibular branch of trigeminal nerve visited our pain clinic. She complained of severe burning and shooting pain on right side lower lip, ear and temporal area. We modified her previous medications and performed repeated right SGB daily, in combination with mandibular or mental and auriculotemporal nerve blocks twice a week. Her symptoms were progressively improved. A contralateral Horner's syndrome occured after the thirteenth SGB, which was performed under several attempts in the same manner and the same physician. She had no evidence of subarachnoid or brachial plexus blocks. She did not need any special treatment and returned home 2 hours later. Subsquent blocks were followed on ipsilateral Horner's syndromes.