Journal of pain research
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In patients with advanced stages of cancer, severe pain is commonly encountered and is very difficult to treat. It affects the quality of life of the patient and the families involved. Pain can be managed using analgesics and adjuvant therapy. ⋯ Magnetic resonance images of the thoracic and lumbar spine showed leptomeningeal metastatic disease and myelitis. We postulate that the paraplegia could be from phenol diffusing along either the spinal nerves or the paravertebral venous plexus into the subarachnoid space. This case report points to the risks involved with phenol neurolysis close to the spine, and we propose alternative methods to minimize neurological complications.