If you struggle with the intense pain of pancreatic cancer or have chronic abdominal pain that doesn’t improve with medical care, a celiac plexus block may provide the relief you need. The experienced physicians at Pain Consultants of Atlanta personally monitor your care during and after a celiac plexus block to ensure optimal pain relief. Request an appointment online or call the nearest office to learn more about this treatment. The team has four offices located in Atlanta, Fayetteville, Stockbridge and Newnan, Georgia.
A celiac plexus block is a type of peripheral nerve block that stops pain messages from reaching your brain. This procedure eases abdominal pain by targeting the celiac plexus, a cluster of nerves in your upper abdomen.
The celiac plexus transmits pain messages originating in your pancreas, gallbladder, intestines, liver, and stomach. You can also experience pain when a condition like a pancreatic tumor pushes against the nerves in the celiac plexus.
The caring team at Pain Consultants of Atlanta most often performs a celiac plexus block to relieve the severe abdominal pain caused by advanced pancreatic cancer.
Though cancer patients often take opioids, a celiac plexus block may help you lower your dose, which prevents side effects. Additionally, many patients have intense breakthrough pain despite taking opioids. A celiac plexus block offers relief from breakthrough pain.
Your provider may also recommend a celiac plexus block for other causes of chronic abdominal pain that don’t improve with conservative therapies. You may be a good candidate for a celiac plexus block if you have chronic pain due to:
The Pain Consultants of Atlanta team can help with many types of recurrent abdominal pain.
Your provider and the entire team have extensive experience performing celiac plexus blocks. They understand your pain and your concerns.
They take time to explain how to prepare, tell you what to expect, and answer your questions. Most importantly, they do all they can to ensure your comfort throughout the procedure, including giving you a sedative if needed.
After your provider applies an anesthetic to the injection site, they use real-time X-ray imaging to see the nerves and guide the thin needles into the celiac plexus. They first inject a dye to verify the medication reaches the targeted nerve, and then they inject a local anesthetic that blocks signals going through the nerve.
If you get significant pain relief following the anesthetic nerve block, your provider may perform a neurolytic block, using alcohol to damage the nerve fibers and give you long-lasting relief.
Call Pain Consultants of Atlanta today or request an appointment online to learn if a celiac plexus block might ease your abdominal pain.