Now surgeons can ‘turn off’ the agony of cancer

Scots hospital f irst to offer nerve procedure that blocks all pain

A REMARKABLE procedure that can effectively ‘turn off’ a patient’s pain is being performed in Scotland for the first time.

Using high-frequency radio waves to ‘zap’ nerves in the spine, surgeons can end the agony associated with conditions as severe as cancer.

Known as a cordotomy procedure, patients with unbearable pain have a specialised needle inserted into their neck to access the spine.

It uses radio frequencies to burn and remove targeted pain nerves, without affecting others.

The procedure usually lasts between 30 minutes to an hour and a half.

The surgical team at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow have been training for the past year to perfect the procedure, and it has been in use there since March.

Potential complications are explained to the patient, but the risk of numbness or paralysis from the removal of nerves is slim.

The procedure was hailed in the minutes of a recent board meeting of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which stated: ‘... a consultant led surgical team at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre have developed the skills to be able to deliver the cordotomy procedure in Scotland for the very first time.’

While those suffering from extreme cancer-related pain will make up most of the patients undergoing the procedure, it can also help alleviate pain for those with chronic and incurable diseases.

Patients suffering from mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, will make up the bulk of those receiving the procedure.

Previously, patients requiring the treatment had to travel to Liverpool and Portsmouth, where there are a large number of mesothelioma patients. In Scotland, 150 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year, 100 of them in the West of Scotland.

The Beatson is the only Scots centre where palliative medicine and chronic pain staff run a joint service, and Dr Alison Mitchell, lead consultant for interventional cancer pain service (ICPS), is pleased to be able to offer the new procedure.

Dr Mitchell said: ‘We have operated an ICPS at the Beatson for ten years and have been working over the last six to be in a position where we can offer a cordotomy service here to patients experiencing severe pain due to cancer.

‘Until now, patients who have been assessed in Glasgow and deemed suitable for a cordotomy procedure have been referred to Liverpool. However, this risks excluding a number of patients who are unfit or do not wish to travel.’

To be eligible for the cordotomy procedure, patients who are experiencing unbearable side effects of cancer medication or related pain will be referred by a palliative medicine consultant.

Those deemed suitable will be assessed and from there specialists will decide if a cordotomy is appropriate. The Beatson aims to treat ten to 15 patients annually.

‘Surgical team has developed the skills’