• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.58-63
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• 1997

Background : Endotracheal intubation is one of the methods most securely establishing airway. But accompanying hemodynamic responses are harmful to coronary or cerebral vascular disease patients. These hemodynamic responses are regarded as the results of sympathetic stimulation due to pharyngolaryngeal stimulation, and sympathetic blocking method-stellate ganglion block- may be obtundate these hemodynamic responses. Methods : 75 patients of ASA physical status I-II were selected. There were 40 patients normotensive (Group I), 35 patients hypertensive (Group II) Group I, steliate ganglion block was performed on 20 patients (Group I-S) the remainder had no procedure (Group I-O). Group II, 18 patients received SG3 (Group II-S), 17 patients had no procedure (Group II-O). SGB was performed with 1% lidocaine 8 ml on right stellate genglion after patient's consent. Blood pressure (IIP) and pulse rate(PR) were first measured in the pre-anesthesia room. Follow up BP and PR are checked immediately following SGB and every 5 minutes for subsequent 20 minutes, then after arrival at operatig room, then immediately after intubation and at 3, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes after incubation. Results : All group experienced significantly increased blood pressure and pulse rate upon arrival at the pre-anesthesetic and opeating rooms, as compared to when patients rates in the ward. After intubation and for subsequent 5 minutes, significant changes were measured. Patients then recovered to preblock value. In Group I, no statistical significance was recorded between subgroup I-S and I-O. However in Group II, there were significant differences between sub-group II-S and II-O. In evaluating pulse rate changes, there were no significant differences between Group I-S and I-O; nor II-S and II-O. Conclusion : The proper diagnosis of Stellate Ganglion Block had some measure of protective effect on hemodynamics following endotracheal intubation, especially in hypertensive patients.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.96-99
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• 1994

Causalgia is a symptom complex usually consisting of burning pain, hyperesthesia and atrophy of the involved extremity. The pain may be aggravated by contact, motion of extremity or emotional excitement. It occurs following incomplete nerve injury. The patient was a 58-year-old male with a 3-year history of causalgic pain of left lower extremity. He had multiple fractures with degloving injury of left lower extremity in an automobile accident. The pain was exacerbated by movement, and he experienced knee joint and ankle joint contracture. The patient's pain decreased after continuous epidural block with 1% lidocaine and 0.25% bupivacaine. He also received lumbar sympathetic ganglion alcohol block resulting in much improvement of level of pain and walking disturbance.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.171-175
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• 2005

Background: Hyperhidrosis is the troublesome disorder of excessive perspiration, which affects as much as 0.15-1% of the population. There are many methods for treating hyperhidrosis. In this report, we present our experience of dorsal percutaneous thoracic sympathetic ganglion block (TSGB) using 99.9% ethyl alcohol for treating palmar hyperhidrosis. Methods: Between March 1992 and July 2003, a total of 856 patients underwent TSGB for the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis of which 625 were followed up for 2 years. There were 297 and 328 male and female patients, respectively, with a mean age of $23.9{\pm}7.7years$. TSGB was performed under fluoroscopic guidance using 99.9% ethyl alcohol at the T2 and T3 sympathetic ganglia. Results: In the 625 patients, the recurrence rates within the 1st and 2nd years were 29 and 8%, respectively. Compensatory sweating occurred in 42.1% of patients, which was severe in 7.5%. Of the 625 patients 21.0 and 36.9% were either very satisfied or relatively satisfied with the outcome, respectively. Conclusions: Our report confirms that TSGB may be a good alternative to endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy in the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.223-225
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• 1996

Pain arising from disorders of the viscera and somatic structures within the pelvis and perineum is a frequent cause of discomfort and disability, especially among women. Recently, blockade of the ganglion impar(ganglion of Walther) has been introduced as an alternative means of managing intractable perineal pain of sympathetic origin. The first report of interruption of the ganglion impar for relief of perineal pain appeared in 1990. We successfully treated a patient who had suffered from intermittent severe coccygodynia with ganglion impar block.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.206-209
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• 1996

Thoracic sympathetic nerve block has a wide range of therapeutic applications which clinicians utilize neurolytics or perform operative sympathectomy. All methods have advantages and disadvantages. We performed "thoracic sympathetic ganglion cauterization" using resectoscope as it is less invasive and more effective than traditional operative methods. Successful procedures were performed involving 2 cases of idiopathic hyperhidrosis and 1 case of sympathetically maintained pain on chest and upper extremity. We experienced failure with one case of idiopathic hyperhidrosis due to severe pleural adhesion. There was also a case of complication of periganglional hemorrhage and parenchymal lung perforation which we successfully treated.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.238-241
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• 1999

Intractable pain arising from disorders of the viscera and somatic structures within the pelvis and perineum often poses difficult problems for the pain pratitioner. The reason for this difficulty is that the region contains diverse anatomic structures with mixed somatic, visceral, and autonomic innervation affecting bladder and bowel control and sexual function. Clinically, sympathetic pain in the perineum has a distinctly vague, burning, and poorly localized quality and is frequently associated with the sensation of urgency. Although various approaches have been proposed for the management of intractable perineal pain, their efficacy and applications are limited. Historically, neurolytic blockade in this region has been focused mainly on somatic rather than sympathetic components. The efficacy of neurolytic ganglion impar block has been demonstrated in treating perineal pain without significant somatovisceral dysfunctions for patient with advanced cancer in 1990. The introduction of superior hypogastric plexus block in 1990 demonstrated its effectiveness in patients with cancer related pelvic pain. In our report, five patients had advanced cancer (rectal caner 3; cervix cancer 1; metastases to sacral portion of renal cell cancer 1). Localized perineal pain was present in all cases and was characterized as burning and urgent with 9~10/10 pain intensity. After neurolytic block of ganglion impar, patients experiened incomplete pain reduction (7~8/10), as determined by the VAS (visual analogue scale), and change in pain site. We then treated with superior hypogastric plexus block, which produced satisfactory pain relief (to less than 4/10), without complication.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.115-118
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• 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
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.118-122
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• 2001

Complex regional pain syndrome type I of vascular origin is difficult to detect unless the classic symptoms and signs exist and/or overt extremity trauma has precipitated the pain. The diagnosis is confirmed by relief of pain following a sympathetic nerve blockade. A 36-year-old woman with arterial occlusive disease of the right lower extremity presented with burning pain and hyperesthesia after sprain had occurred which was accompanied by motor weakness of right ankle. A lumbar sympathetic ganglion blockade with 2% lidocaine 10 ml and triamcinolone 80 mg produced prompt improvement of the pain and motion.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.119-125
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• 2008

Background: Cerebral blood vessels are innervated by sympathetic nerves from the superior cervical ganglia (SCG), and these nerves may influence the cerebral blood flow. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of superior cervical sympathetic ganglion block in rats that were subjected to focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Methods: Eighty male Sprague-Dawley rats (270-320 g) were randomly assigned to one of two groups (the ropivacaine group and a control group). In all the animals, brain injury was induced by middle cerebral artery (MCA) reperfusion that followed MCA occlusion for 2 hours. The animals of the ropivacaine group received $30{\mu}l$ of 0.75% ropivacaine, and their SCG. Neurologic score was assessed at 1, 3, 7 and 14 days after brain injury. Brain tissue samples were then collected. The infarct ratio was measured by 2.3.5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labeled (TUNEL) reactive cells and the cells showing caspase-3 activity were counted as markers of apoptosis at the caudoputamen and frontoparietal cortex. Results: The death rate, the neurologic score and the infarction ratio were significantly less in the ropivacaine group 24 hr after ischemia/reperfusion injury. The number of TUNEL positive cells in the ropivacaine group was significantly lower than those values of the control group in the frontoparietal cortex at 3 days after injury, but the caspase-3 activity was higher in the ropivacaine group than that in the control group at 1 day after injury. Conclusions: The study data indicated that a superior cervical sympathetic ganglion block may reduce the neuronal injury caused by focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion, but it may not prevent the delayed damage.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.248-250
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• 1996

Stellate ganglion block(SGB), cervicothoracic sympathetic block, is the most widely practiced procedure in pain clinics. We experienced a case of 47 year old male patient who had received SGB & developed prolonged complication of Horner's syndrome. The patient was an anesthesiologist at our clinic who's medical history was unremarkable except mild hypertension. He wanted to experience the general effect of SGB and to evaluate the influence of SGB on blood pressure. After 15 days, he recovered spontaneously from Horner's syndrome. As with this case, it is necessary to assure patients they will recover from complications within several months, at the longest, without any sequelae.