Computed tomography in the "thalamic syndrome"

A 50-year-old man was evaluated for paresthesia and pain affecting the left side of his body and face. The paresthesia and pain developed and progressed concomitantly with a resolving left hemiparesis attributed to a lacunar infarct occurring 5 months prior to admission. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a discrete lesion in the region of the dorsomedial margin of the nucleus ventralis posterior. To the many pathological reports localizing the lesion of the "thalamic syndrome," one can now add the CT verification of the lesion in vivo.