Therapeutic Medial Branch Radio Frequency Ablation for Refractory Chronic Low Back Pain Post Annuloplasty

Dr. Pankaj Surange, Dr. Sowjanya Kommuri, Dr. Shalley Singh, Dr. Swati Bhat

Abstract: Facet arthropathy although less common than discogenic pain is still a predominant cause of back pain and is often a missed diagnosis. We present a case of 28 - year - old male who presented to us with low back pain, was diagnosed with annular tear and treated with annuloplasty. He had partial pain relief, and his functionality improved but his pain again increased after 6 months. Based on clinical findings a diagnosis of facet arthropathy was made and confirmed with medial branch diagnostic block followed by radiofrequency ablation which resulted in significant pain relief over 3 weeks.

Keywords: Annuloplasty, Discogenic Pain, Facet Arthropathy, refractory low back pain, residual low back pain, Radio Frequency Ablation