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Part I. The Treatment of Chronic Severe Pain

VERNON H. MARK, M.D.; FRANK R. ERVIN, M.D.; THOMAS P. HACKETT, M.D.

Arch Neurol. 1960;3(4):351-367.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Introduction

Our group has taken the ventral posterior thalamus as an initial target for stereotactic surgical intervention in the treatment of chronic severe pain. We have done this for several reasons.

Clinically, we were often faced with the problem of treating terminal cancer patients with subjective head and neck pain in areas supplied by several cranial and upper cervical nerves. These patients, if not relieved by narcotic medication, often required a section of multiple posterior roots. We felt that any less drastic operative procedure, such as a stereotactic surgical maneuver which could effectively relieve chronic pain, would be a welcome addition to the surgical armamentarium.

From a research point of view, the sensory relay nucleus of the thalamus offered us a unique opportunity to check the accuracy of our stereotactic method. We were able to stimulate peripherally and record evoked thalamic potentials; we also stimulated with intrathalamic electrodes in the . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Boston

Neurosurgical Service and Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Departments of Surgery and Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.

Footnotes
Received for publication June 21, 1960.

Dr. Ervin is a Fellow of the Medical Foundation, Inc.

Presented at the 84th Annual Meeting of The American Neurological Association, Atlantic City, N. J., June 16, 1959.

Expenses partially defrayed by a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness; by a grant from an anonymous donor, administered by Dr. James C. White; by a portion of a grant to the Massachusetts General Hospital by the American Cancer Society, and by a grant from the United Cerebral Palsy Association.

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