J Korean Pain Soc.  1993 May;6(1):100-104.

Percutaneous Retrogasserian Ethanol Gangliolysis for Management of Maxillary Sinus Cancer Pain

• Chang WY
• Choe KC

Abstract

Malignant tumors of the paranasal sinuses are quite rare entity, with maxillary neoplasms accounting for less than 1 percent of all head and neck malignancies. When considering the paranasal sinuses alone, 77 percent of cancers arise in the maxillary sinuses. There is no situation more frustrating than the management of the patients with chronic fa-cial pain due to cancer. The initial step in managing patients .with cancer pain is the use of oncologic therapy in the form of radiotherapy, surgery, chemotherapy, alone or combined, either to effect a cure or decrease the size of the tumor and thus decrease or eliminate the pain. When oncologic therapy is ineffective in providing relief, the pain must be treated by one or more of the followings; Systemic analgesics and adjuvant drugs, psychologic techniques of analgesia, neurostimulating techniques, neuroablative surgical procedures, regional analgesia with local anesthetics or neurolytic blocks. An 82-year old patient had severe pain of the orbital and infraorbital region due to squamous cell carcinoma oE the maxillary sinus. We successfully treated this patient with the percutaneous retrogasserian ethanol gangliolysis by a Hartel approach, and the analgesia lasts until the death of the patient.

Keyword

Maxillary sinus cancer; Percutaneous retrogasserian ethanol gangliolysis

MeSH Terms

Aged, 80 and over
Analgesia
Analgesics
Anesthetics, Local
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
Drug Therapy
Ethanol*
Head
Humans
Maxillary Neoplasms
Maxillary Sinus Neoplasms*
Maxillary Sinus*
Neck
Orbit
Paranasal Sinuses
Psychological Techniques
Radiotherapy
Analgesics
Anesthetics, Local
Ethanol