Indications for neurosurgical treatment of chronic pain

Summary Guidelines are presented for the neurosurgical treatment of chronic pain. In these guidelines a distinction is made between the pain of cancer and neurogenic pain. In cancer pain the survival time and the location of the lesion are the important guidelines. Possible procedures are: opioids via CSF route, lesions in nociceptive pathways and PV-PAG stimulation of the thalamus. In neurogenic pain, neurostimulation procedures, tailored to the location of the pain are procedures of first choice. There are however specific indications for other procedures depending on the aetiology of the pain. Causalgia and reflex sympathetic dystrophy: sympathetic blocade; Tic douloureux: radio-frequency lesion, glycerol, balloon inflation of the ganglion of Gasser, and microvascular decompression; Plexus avulsion: dorsal root entry zone lesion (D.R.E.Z.).There is a need for controlled prospective neurosurgical trials in which as a minimal rule an independent party should evaluate the results of the surgical procedure.Invited Lecture, presented at the European Congress of Neurosurgery, Moscow, June 23–29, 1991.