Lumbar Foraminal Stenosis

Note: All diagnostic procedures are performed by Dr Mork

A selective nerve root block is performed if there is any doubt about which nerve is getting pinched and causing the pain. I do this with sedation, fluroscopic x-ray and an electric tipped needle to help find the nerve. Once the nerve is identified by contractions, some contrast can be injected to outline the nerve before some anesthetic is injected. If the pain goes away, the diagnosis is clear.

Note: Sedation is used in all cases for painless placement of the needles.

Cervical Foraminal Stenosis

The most important thing to know before neck surgery is the correct level of Foraminal Stenosis causing the pain, since there may be more than one level of stenosis. The cause of pain could be bony overgrowth, a disc herniation or both. This requires a careful evaluation and correlation of the history, the MRI findings, and a CT scan when necessary.