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A local anesthetic is administered to numb the skin and all tissue up to the sympathetic nerve through which the needle is introduced. A contrast substance helps to visualize the local picture on the fluoroscope and guide the needle right into the painful area. Then the doctor injects a mixture of anesthetic, saline and anti inflammatory drug which prevent the conduction of pain signals to the brain. The patient may feel weakness in legs, which has to disappear in several hours after the procedure. It may be needed to repeat the procedure once per week to achieve full pain relief. The procedure is not permitted for patients who receive ‘blood thinning’ agents or have inflammations in the site of sympathetic nerve injections.
Possible side-effects are comparable with side-effects of a simple injection: patient may have allergic reactions, bacterial infection or bleeding, which occurs rarely.
Steroid side-effects: swelling of the face, arms and legs, diabetics may have their blood sugar level raised.
It is obligatory to inform your physician about pregnancy or the use of ‘blood thinning’ medications
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