Radio Frequency Thermo Lesion

With correct identification of the indication, radiofrequency thermolesion is an extremely precise, effective and safe method with many fields of application to combat chronic pain. Since it can be carried out at the outpatient clinic under local anaesthetic, it is not very stressful for the patient.

The thermal action of a high-frequency current of about 300 kHz – 2 MHz has already been used for decades in highfrequency surgery for cutting and tissue during surgical procedures. High-frequency current causes an electrolyte shift. This ion movement causes a marked development of heat in the tissue close to the electrode. At temperatures of 60 – 90 °C, this is known as thermal coagulation which enables selective elimination of the pain fibres. Percutaneous procedures for pain treatment require precise control of the coagulation effect. The aim is an irreversible coagulation as effective as possible over the desired area. This is made possible by measuring and monitoring all coagulation parameters such as voltage, current, impedance, temperature evolution and time of application. The probe diameter and length of the active tip have an influence on the lesion.

Modern RF devices for percutaneous pain treatment procedures generally use digital temperature regulation (a microthermal element is integrated in the electrode tip) which, on the one hand, can be adjusted to the electrode and, on the other, enables the generation of defined temperature-time curves.

Indications:

• degenerative back pain
• chronic pain of the axial skeleton
• non-surgical cervical and lumbar intervertebral disc pain
• non-surgical nerve root (radicular) compressions
• Herpes Zoster
• chronic pain syndromes of the sympathetic nervous system, e.g., sympathetic algodystrophy
• cervicobrachialgia / cervicocephalgia, e.g., after whiplash or of degenerative origin
• cluster headaches
• trigeminal neuralgia
• chronic tumour pain