Microsurgical dorsal root entry zone coagulation for chronic neuropathic pain due to spinal cord and/or cauda equina injuries

Chronic painis a major problem for patients suffering from spinal cord injury (SCI). The prevalence of SCI-related pain ranges from 48% to 94% depending on the method of data acquisition and type of pain considered.SCI-related neuropathic pain is classified into three subtypes: above-, at-, and below-lesion-level pain. After SCI, it is believed that the dorsal horn of the injured spinal cord expresse-d increased electrical activity.Thus, the neurosurgical procedures for coagulation in the dorsal roo-t entry zone (DREZ) have proved to be most effective in chronic neuropathic pain due to SCI. The aim of this study was to describe the effect and safety of microsurgical DREZ coagulation in treating ch-ronic SCI-related neuropathic pain.