Parasagittal needle placement approach for lumbar medial branch denervation: a brief technical report

John Tran; Arden Lawson; Anne Agur; Eldon Loh

doi:10.1136/rapm-2023-105152

Parasagittal needle placement approach for lumbar medial branch denervation: a brief technical report

Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2024 Jan 4:rapm-2023-105152. doi: 10.1136/rapm-2023-105152. Online ahead of print.

Authors

John Tran^{1

2}, Arden Lawson³, Anne Agur⁴, Eldon Loh^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Surgery (Division of Anatomy), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada johnjt.tran@utoronto.ca.
² Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
³ Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Surgery (Division of Anatomy), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

PMID: 38176741
DOI: 10.1136/rapm-2023-105152

Abstract

Radiofrequency denervation of lumbar medial branches is a viable treatment option to manage chronic facetogenic low back pain. Traditionally, lumbar medial branch denervation involves placement of the electrode's active tip at a 20-degree angulation away from the parasagittal plane. However, more recent anatomical studies have provided evidence supporting the feasibility of an alternative parasagittal approach targeting the posterior half of the lateral neck of the superior articular process to capture the lumbar medial branches. Currently, there is a lack of clinical data on the effectiveness of the alternative parasagittal needle placement technique. Therefore, in this brief technical report, the parasagittal needle placement technique and the pain relief outcomes in four consecutive patients following treatment with the parasagittal approach are described.

Keywords: Back Pain; CHRONIC PAIN; Pain Management.