Stellate ganglion block to mitigate thalamic pain syndrome of an oncological origin.

BACKGROUND: Thalamic pain syndrome (TPS) is an enigmatic and rare condition. Thalamic pain syndrome is under the umbrella of central pain syndrome, which is classically associated with multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, postamputation, epilepsy, stroke, tumor, and Parkinson's disease. The mainstay treatment of TPS is polypharmacy. There is uncertainty about the intermediate options to manage medication-resistant TPS before resorting to invasive, and often expensive, intracranial therapies. Stellate ganglion block (SGB) has shown promise in reducing TPS symptoms of the upper extremity and face following a thalamic ischemic event.

AIMS: Discuss the effect and potential utility of SGB on ipsilateral headache, facial, and upper extremity neuropathic pain due to thalamic malignancies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of two patient records that underwent SGB for treatment of TPS of oncologic origin.

RESULTS: We present two cases of the successful use of SGB for the treatment of oncologic-related TPS for patients who had failed other conservative pharmacologic measures.

DISCUSSION: Chronic pain is a complex experience that often simultaneously involves psychosocial, neuropathic, and nociceptive constituents. Among advanced cancer patients, factors such as an individual's spirituality, psychological stressors, and views on their mortality add layers of intricacy in addressing their pain. While TPS has been characterized in both stroke populations and oncologic populations, the treatment of SGB for pain relief in TPS has been limited to the stroke population. Repeated SGB worked to alleviate the ipsilateral headache, facial, and upper extremity pain in these two patients. The benefits of utilization of SGB, with the possibility of pain relief, within the thalamic malignancy population cannot be understated.

CONCLUSION: In summary, ultrasound-guided SGB may be considered in patients with TPS due to thalamic cancer, before pursuing more invasive intracranial surgeries to treat pain.