What is a Chemical Lumbar Sympathectomy?
The chain of nerves which are targeted in this procedure control the amount of blood flow to the lower leg. These nerves are accessed from the back, just to the side of the spine. If these nerves can be stopped from working, this may result in less constriction of your blood vessels and increase the blood flow to the foot.
Indications of lumbar sympathetic block are vascular insufficiency, sympathetically mediated pain (complex regional pain syndrome type 1 & 2), phantom limb pain, peripheral neuropathies, and post-herpetic neuralgia.
Procedure
This is a day procedure. In the operating theatre, you will be positioned on your stomach. A drip will be place in your hand and a light anaesthetic used. Local anaesthetic will then be injected in the skin prior to insertion of the needle. The needle will then be placed in the appropriate position. Some dye injected and the x-ray machine is used to check that the position of the needle is correct.
The procedure itself normally takes between 15 and 45 minutes in the operating theatre.
Risks and Complications
New pain on the inner upper thigh can occasionally be experienced for up to 6 weeks. Aching pain can occur at the needle insertion site.
If you notice any of these symptoms contact us immediately:
- high temperatures post procedure
- excessive bleeding or bruising at needle insertion site
- blood in the urine that persists for longer than 1 week
