Lateral Spinothalamic Tractotomy

Hazouri and Mueller (1950) described three selected cases of patients with intractable root pain, subsequent to severe trauma to the cauda equina which resulted in paraplegia (L2-4 lesions). All three patients demonstrated a distinct increase in the threshold for perception of pain and “an even more remarkable increase in the threshold for reaction to pain.” Lateral spinothalamic tractotomy in all three of these patients resulted in complete relief from pain. Threshold studies subsequent to the tractotomy “revealed a striking return of perception and reaction thresholds to a normal range.”