Extract
Extraforaminal cervical nerve-root blocks, administered under image
guidance, are extremely useful for both the diagnosis and treatment of
cervical radiculopathy. In terms of safety, Ma et al., in their analysis of
fluoroscopically guided cervical nerve blocks, found no instances of paralysis
in their 1036 patients after
injection1. Although
devastating neurological complications after cervical transforaminal nerve
block are rare, there have been anecdotal case reports of spinal cord
infarction2-4,
injection into surrounding vascular
structures5,6,
epidural abscess7,
and cerebellar and/or brain-stem herniation and
infarction8,9.