• Pain Med · May 2023

    Quantification of needle angles for traditional lumbar medial branch radiofrequency ablation: An osteological study.

    • John Tran, Emma S Campisi, Anne M R Agur, and Eldon Loh.
    • Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
    • Pain Med. 2023 May 2; 24 (5): 488495488-495.

    BackgroundClinical outcomes following lumbar medial branch radiofrequency ablation (RFA) have been inconsistent. One possible reason is less-than-optimal placement of the electrode along the medial branch at the lateral neck of superior articular process (SAP). Needle angles that define optimal placement (i.e., parallel to the medial branch) may be helpful for consistent technical performance of RFA. Despite its importance, there is a lack of anatomical studies that quantify RFA needle placement angles.ObjectiveTo quantify and compare needle angles to achieve parallel placement along the medial branch as it courses on the middle two-quarters of the lateral neck of the SAP at the L1-L5 vertebrae.DesignOsteological Study.MethodsTen lumbar vertebral columns were used in this study. Needles were placed along the periosteum of the middle two-quarters of the lateral neck of SAP. Mean needle angles for L1-L5 were quantified and compared using posterior (n = 100) and lateral (n = 100) photographs.ResultsMean needle angles varied ranging from 29.29 ± 17.82° to 47.22 ± 16.27° lateral to the parasagittal plane (posterior view) and 33.53 ± 10.23° to 49.19 ± 10.69° caudal to the superior vertebral endplate (lateral view). Significant differences in mean angles were found between: L1/L3 (P = .008), L1/L4 (P = .003), and L1/L5 (P = .040) in the posterior view and L1/L3 (P = .042), L1/L4 (P < .001), L1/L5 (P < .001), L2/L4 (P = .004), and L2/L5 (P = .004) in lateral view.ConclusionsVariability of needle angles suggest a standard "one-size-fits-all" approach may not be the optimal technique. Future research is necessary to determine optimal patient-specific needle angles from a more detailed and granular analysis of fluoroscopic landmarks.© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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