Interventional Radiology in Pain Treatment

Disease, whether it is acute, chronic, or at end stage, is all too regularly accompanied by pain. Pain is often difficult to control, in malignant disease in particular, even by using appropriate medications. Anesthesiologists and pain therapists have developed new invasive therapies including nerve block, sympatholysis, and neurolysis useful for both diagnosis and pain management. To insure the efficiency and safety of these procedures, and furthermore for elaborate techniques such as vertebroplasty, cementoplasty, and radio frequency bone ablation, imaging guidance becomes mandatory. This state-of-the-art book describes the techniques elaborated by interventional radiologists in the treatment and palliation of a variety of benign and malignant painful conditions. Each chapter written by an expert in the field concentrates on a particular aspect of pain management, with emphasis on practical issues. This book will serve as an invaluable source of information for the radiologist willing to learn about new pain therapy techniques aimed at optimizing or replacing more invasive traditional methods.