Ex vivo photographic temperature mapping of bipolar radiofrequency (RF) lesions in animal tissue is performed over a wide range of electrode tip spacings, tip lengths, tip diameters, tip temperatures, and lesion times. In vivo temperature measurements collected during clinical treatment of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain corroborate those collected ex vivo. Generation of a "strip lesion" connecting two separated bipolar electrode tips is demonstrated ex vivo for tip spacings as large as 20 mm. A rounded rectangular bipolar lesion with midline dimensions 12 mm × 15 mm × 8 mm (L × W × D) is demonstrated using 10 mm parallel tip spacing, 10 mm tip lengths, 20 gauge cannulae, 90°C tip temperature, and 3-minute lesion time. Lesion length can be increased to 18 mm by using 15 mm tip lengths. Lesion width can be increased to 17 mm by using 12 mm tip spacing. The size of conventional bipolar lesions can exceed the size of lesions produced both by conventional monopolar RF (12 mm × 7 mm × 7 mm ellipsoidal) and by cooled monopolar RF as used in spinal pain management (10 mm × 10 mm × 10 mm spherical). SIJ pain is treated by placing 5 to 7 straight RF cannulae perpendicular to the dorsal sacrum and producing 4 to 6 overlapping bipolar RF lesions between the dorsal sacral foramina and the ipsilateral SIJ. This bipolar "palisade" (a defensive fence) creates a continuous lesion spanning the region through which multiple sacral lateral branch nerves travel along irregular, branching paths to reach the SIJ.
Intractable penile pain can be a very difficult condition to address. Studies have shown that both locally advanced and metastatic penile cancer, along with its associated management options and subsequent complications, yield a very poor prognosis, with pain being the most feared symptom. Furthermore, a lack of palliative therapy has been demonstrated in this patient population, with an emphasis on the need for implementing future options. This case depicts a 67-year-old male, with a past medical history of metastatic prostate cancer involving the penis, who presented with intractable penile pain. To the authors' knowledge, this will be the first documented case of the successful utilization of a bilateral superior hypogastric plexus neurolysis in the management of intractable neoplasm-related penile pain attributed to both radiationinduced injury in the treatment of malignant neoplasm and penile pain secondary to metastatic prostate cancer to the penis. As a currently under-utilized treatment option in the management of intractable neoplasm-related penile pain, this case presentation acts to increase awareness of its potential use, therefore reducing the need for analgesics and the associated burdens, as well as improving patient palliation. Furthermore, this case offers evidence supporting the encouragement of its use in the general management of intractable penile pain due to other pathophysiology.
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