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Dropped head syndrome after bilateral cervical radiofrequency ablation. A case report and literature review
Antonio Ojeda Niño1, Oihane Manterola Lasa1, Cesar Gracia Fabre2
1Department of Anesthesiology, Reanimation, and Pain Medicine, Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Spain.
Introduction:
Cervical medial branch radiofrequency ablation is an effective treatment for cervical facet joint pain. It is considered a safe procedure, and permanent complications are very rare. We report a case of a patient who developed dropped-head syndrome (DHS) after bilateral treatment.
Case Report:
An 86-year-old man was referred to our pain clinic because of neck pain. One year before, he underwent bilateral multi-level cervical medial branch radiofrequency ablation. Within the next 24 hours, he experienced progressive neck extensor muscle weakness. After a comprehensive examination, he was diagnosed with dropped head syndrome as a complication of the radiofrequency procedure. Conservative management was chosen, resulting in partial improvement of the muscular weakness.
Conclusion:
The present case, along with others reviewed in this article, supports the recommendation against performing bilateral and multilevel cervical medial branch radiofrequency ablation.
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