Lumbosacral radiculopathy following radiofrequency ablation therapy

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a treatment modality for several types of malignancies and vascular malformations. Only limited information is available on neurologic complications following RFA. We report three cases of acute lumbosacral radiculopathy after abdominal RFA, in two of which electrophysiologic studies were performed. All three patients had significant spontaneous clinical improvement. We suggest the underlying cause was partial axonopathy due to thermal injury, but with a good prognosis.