Yesterday I had a right and left sided RFA of the sphenopallatine nerve ganglion. I felt that the surgeon was excellent. He has done 50 of this type of RFA and has been instrumental in developing this type of RFA to pain patients at the Pain center where I am being treated. His background is as anaethesiologist.
This was done as an outpatient surgery. I checked in,changed into a gown and an I V, blood pressure, pulse etc were set up.
The surgeon came out and spoke to my husband and myself to explain exactly what he planned to do and answered all of the questions that we had and reviewed the risks and goal. A few things that I found out were: he was going to do one side initially because the procedure is painful. I asked for both sides to be done if at all possible.
He agreed that he would if he felt that I could handle it and as long as things went smoothly. He had read my complicated history about my former pituitary surgery, csf leak repairs and all diagnostic blocks that had been performed in the past that had worked on both sides to this area.
In the OR I was prepared, sanitized, given oxygen and the areas getting the RFA. He did my right side first. A long needle that would be able to pulse the nerve/ s was slowly inserted into the gap in the mandible bone and fed up to the area were the nerve that he was trying to reach within the ganglion (f2). I’ll admit it, it hurt!!! They used sedation and a total of 13 vials of fentanyl to help with this. The surgeon used a monitor where he was able to see quite a bit. what was especially painful was the part where the doc was trying to find the exact spot to ablate. So the needle was being moved around in partial millimeters. When it was moved he would send a pulse and ask me where I felt it. He wanted me to feel the pulse in my nostril. but I got to feel pulses to my molars, front teeth, lip, and palate too, oh joy.
Once in the right spot the needle was left in that spot and pulses were done many times.
Then he did the other side, which went a lot quicker. In all the double ablation took about 90 minutes from start to finish.
I was told that I would have swelling and tenderness in my cheeks and that it could take up to two weeks to feel the full effects.
Yes I am a little tender, but I am fore head pain free for the first time in seven years.
The doc did say that while this ganglion is mostly somatic,but that a branch of F2 feeds into it. He expects that the results will last for six to nine months.
Thought I’d share in case there are others that have a similar, bilateral type 2 neuropathy.
aloha
A smiling, hopeful, ice pack covered
Hoselip
