Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2025
Surgical Technique for Spinal Cord Delivery of Therapies: Demonstration of Procedure in Gottingen Minipigs
Published on: December 7, 2012
Percutaneous Foraminal Neuroplasty Using Reference Spinal Needles: Technical Description
Victor M Silva-Ortiz1,2, Alaa Abd-Elsayed3, Jesus Medina-Razcon4
1Pain Management Department, Hospital Zambrano Hellion, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, San Pedro Garza Garcia, NL, Mexico. drvictorsilva@gmail.com.
Background:
Lumbar foraminal stenosis is a common cause of chronic lower back pain and radiculopathy often treated by epidural steroid injections. In the absence of imaging findings with a positive physical exam demonstrating symptoms, percutaneous neuroplasty (PNP) may be an alternative to transforaminal epidural steroid injections that have otherwise failed.
Case Presentation:
We present two cases (55-year-old man and 65-year-old woman) with chronic low back pain and radiculopathy with otherwise normal imaging demonstrating no lumbar foraminal stenosis refractory to transforaminal epidural steroid injections. PNP was performed using reference spinal needles with both patients achieving sustained > 50-75% pain relief.
Conclusion:
PNP offers interventional chronic pain physicians and patients with refractory chronic low back pain with lumbar radiculopathy due to fibrosis an alternative, safe treatment that offers sustained results. Furthermore, this is the first of its kind to offer a step-by-step procedural step of PNP using a reference spinal needle.
