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Cervical Medial Branch Blocks and Radiofrequency Ablation

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Regional Nerve Blocks in Anesthesia and Pain Therapy

Abstract

Cervical medial branch blocks and radiofrequency ablations are commonly used in the diagnosis as well as treatment of chronic neck pain and headaches related to cervical facet joints. While fluoroscopy has been the imaging standard for these procedures, ultrasound guidance can provide several advantages when used as a primary modality or in an assistive capacity. In this chapter, we provide a detailed technical review of both the traditional x-ray and the newer ultrasound-based approaches.

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Abbreviations

AP:

Articular pillars

CMBBs:

Cervical medial branch blocks

LA:

Local anesthetic

SSC:

semispinalis capitis muscle

TON:

Third occipital nerve

TP:

transverse process

US:

ultrasound

USG:

ultrasound-guided

Suggested Reading

  • Elgueta MF, Jimenez JO, Wang NN, Lara AP, Chankowsky J, Charghi R, Tran DQ, Finlayson RJ. Anatomical variations of the vertebral artery in the upper cervical spine: clinical relevance for procedures targeting the C1/C2 and C2/C3 joints. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2018;43:367–71.

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  • Finlayson RJ, Etheridge JP, Vieira L, Gupta G, Tran DQH. A randomized comparison between ultrasound- and fluoroscopy-guided third occipital nerve block. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2013;38:212–7.

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  • Finlayson RJ, Etheridge JP, Tiyaprasertkul W, Nelems B, Tran DQH. A prospective validation of bi-planar ultrasound imaging for C5-C6 medial branch blocks. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2014;39:160–3.

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  • Finlayson RJ, Thonnagith A, Elgueta MF, Perez J, Etheridge JP, Tran DQH. Ultrasound-guided cervical medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy: can multitined deployment cannulae be the solution? Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2017;42:45–51.

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Finlayson, R.J., Etheridge, J.P.B., Venter, J. (2022). Cervical Medial Branch Blocks and Radiofrequency Ablation. In: Jankovic, D., Peng, P. (eds) Regional Nerve Blocks in Anesthesia and Pain Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88727-8_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88727-8_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-88726-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-88727-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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