Percutaneous cryoanalgesia in pain management: a case-series.

BACKGROUND: Cryoanalgesia, also known as cryoneuroablation or cryoneurolysis, is a specialized technique for providing long-term pain relief.

METHODS: There are presented retrospective data on pain relief and changes in function after cryoanalgesia techniques: we describe the effect of this procedure on articular facet syndromes, sacroiliac pain and knee pain. We reviewed records of 18 patients with articular lumbar facet pain, knee pain and sacroiliac pain.

RESULTS: Both the visual analog scale and the Patient's global impression of change scale showed an increase in patients' satisfaction already at 1 month after cryoablation, with the best scores after three months. Only three individuals displayed a worse condition than at the first month.

CONCLUSION: The majority of patients experienced a clinically relevant degree of pain relief and improved function following percutaneous cryoanalgesia.