Description

Ronald Brisman, M.D. This book will discuss three areas where the The multiplicity of procedures with varying neurosurgeon may provide an important degrees of risks and benefits sometimes re­ contribution to the relief of intractable pain: quires a sequential approach, but always an trigeminal and other facial neuralgias, chronic individual one, matching an appropriate treat­ noncancer pain, and cancer pain. By one ment plan or procedure for a particular patient intervention, the neurosurgeon often may pro­ at a specific time in his or her illness. vide long-lasting pain relief. New techniques, The neurosurgical chapters in this book which have developed since the 1970s and represent my experience with several hundred continue to evolve, dominate the neurosur­ patients during a 12-year period from 1975 gical armamentarium because they are not only through 1987. I have relied heavily on the effective, but safe. These include percutaneous works of others, which have been quoted from radio frequency electrocoagulation for trigem­ the neurosurgical literature, but this book is inal neuralgia, spinal stimulation for chronic not meant to be encyclopedic. noncancer pain, and intraspinal morphine in­ At least as important as knowing when to fusion for cancer pain. operate is knowing when not to do so, and this Sometimes a procedure relieves pain but the is particularly true of the treatment of pain. pain recurs; it may be necessary to repeat the Most patients with pain do not require neuro­ procedure, which in the case of radiofrequency surgical intervention.