It turns out that Uncle Li, who lives in Dongming County, is 7 1 year-old. More than a month ago, he accidentally got herpes zoster on his waist, abdominal wall and thighs (folk call it snake gall sore or girdle dragon), and his skin recovered after half a month of treatment in the local health center. Unfortunately, the scab of herpes gradually hurts, just like a knife cut, and I have to stay in the hospital. Later, the pain was unbearable, especially at night, and I couldn't sleep. After 10 days of treatment, the pain did not relieve. Unable to bear the pain of herpes, Uncle Li's child dialed "120" and was admitted to Heze Municipal Hospital. Due to long-term rheumatoid arthritis, Uncle Li transferred from neurology to rheumatology. After neurotrophic and analgesic treatment, although the pain has eased, Uncle Li is still in unbearable pain.
After consultation with Qiao Baoguang, the attending physician of pain department, it is considered that the subacute neuralgia after the healing of herpes zoster can be treated by short-term spinal cord electrical stimulation. After the patient explained, the family members readily agreed to the spinal cord electrical stimulation surgery. On August 29th, the pain was obviously relieved on the day of operation. After nearly two weeks of electrical stimulation treatment, Uncle Li's postherpetic neuralgia basically disappeared, and he could sleep peacefully at night, greatly improving his quality of life. After evaluation, the spinal cord electrode was taken out on September 1 1. Uncle Li and his family were very satisfied with the treatment effect and were discharged from the hospital on September 14.
Miao Huashao, director of the Department of Pain, told the reporter that spinal cord electrical stimulation is to implant electrodes in the spinal canal near the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, and block the transmission of pain signals to the brain through pulsed electrical stimulation to reduce the changes in neuroplasticity. It is the most advanced method to treat intractable neuropathic pain in the world at present, and it is called "analgesic pacemaker". Postherpetic neuralgia is the pain left by the healing of herpes zoster skin, which is caused by nerve damage caused by virus. The older you get, the higher the incidence and the more difficult it is to cure. Short-term electrical stimulation within 3 months can get good results, while chronic pain requires long-term electrical stimulation with permanent electrodes.
In recent years, the Pain Department of Heze Municipal Hospital has made continuous breakthroughs in the treatment of neuropathic pain, and carried out standardized nerve control operations such as pulsed radio frequency, intrathecal drug infusion and spinal cord electrical stimulation. In particular, the development of spinal cord electrical stimulation technology makes intractable neuralgia the final choice, which will benefit more patients suffering from neuralgia in Heze and surrounding areas. (Qiao Baoguang)