Facet infiltration

The X-ray-assisted facet infiltration or blockade , also called facet joint infiltration , is an interventional-radiological-pain therapy procedure to treat painful, arthritically altered facet joints (syn. Small vertebral joints). The vertebral joint is punctured directly with a thin needle under X-ray or CT control and a pain reliever / X-ray contrast medium mixture is injected into and onto the joint. This has a max. Capacity of one milliliter. The mixture of painkillers can be composed differently. Usually a local anesthetic is combined with an anti-inflammatory agent (often a cortisone derivative ). Additively or alternatively, a 95 percent alcohol solution can be injected to denervate the pain fibers of the small vertebral joint and to prolong the pain-relieving effect. Today, however, alcohol denervation is being replaced more and more by thermal or cryodenervation processes. With thin probes, heat or cold is conducted to the facets and their nerve plexus, which leads to coagulation necrosis of the same. These interventions can be carried out on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia under X-ray control.

source

• A. Gangi, JL Dietemann, R. Mortazavi, D. Pfleger, C. Kauff, C. Roy: CT-guided interventional procedures for pain management in the lumbosacral spine. In: Radiographics. 18, 1998, pp. 621-633. PMID 9599387

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !