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Alternative denervation using laser irradiation in lumbar facet syndrome
Author(s) -
Iwatsuki Koichi,
Yoshimine Toshiki,
Awazu Kunio
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
lasers in surgery and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1096-9101
pISSN - 0196-8092
DOI - 10.1002/lsm.20459
Subject(s) - facet (psychology) , denervation , medicine , lumbar , surgery , capsule , dorsum , pain relief , anatomy , psychology , social psychology , botany , personality , biology , big five personality traits
Background and Objective Facet syndrome is persistent low back pain that might be treated with some surgical interventions. The target of surgical techniques is the transverse process bases where the medial nerve branches innervated the facet. However, highly variable success rates have been demonstrated in different series. Study Design/Materials and Methods We carried out laser denervation to the dorsal surface of the facet capsule, where it is richly innervated with medial nerve branches. Results One year after laser denervation, 17 patients (81%) experienced complete or greater than 70% pain reduction in all 21 patients. Among the six patients who had previously undergone spinal surgery, two (33.3%) experienced successful pain relief. Overall, in four patients (19%), the response to laser denervation at 1‐year follow‐ups was not successful. Conclusion The dorsal surface of the facet capsule might be a more preferable target for facet denervation. Lasers Surg. Med. 39:225–229, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.