New radiofrequency technique reduces disc pain with quick recovery time
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new radiofrequency technique - intradiskal biacuplasty - appears to be superior to intradiskal electrothermal therapy for treating chronic discogenic pain, a physician team from Cleveland Clinic reported this week at the 23rd annual meeting of the American Academy of Pain Medicine in New Orleans.
Biacuplasty uses two radiofrequency probes placed on the opposite posterolateral sides of the treated annulus, to coagulate and decompress the disc material.
Biacuplasty is "simple and straightforward to perform," compared with electrothermal therapy, presenter Dr. Leonardo Kaparal told Reuters Health. It offers greater relief from discogenic pain, and because it is minimally invasive, he added, "Recovery time is shorter."
Kaparal and his associates in Ohio performed a pilot study on 13 patients who were treated with biacuplasty and followed for 6 months. There were no complications during the procedure or during follow-up.
Within the first month after the procedure, most patients reported greatly reduced pain and much better functional capacity.
At 6 months, median opioid use had decreased from 40 to 5 mg/day (p = 0.014). Median pain scores had fallen from 7 prior to the procedure to 3 (p < 0.001). Functional capacity and quality of life measures had also improved significantly.
Kaparal noted that "eight of 13 patients have minimal or no pain, and five have the same amount of pain as before, but no worse."