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Intrapleural Catheters

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Treatment of Chronic Pain by Interventional Approaches

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Abstract

The “intrapleural” space refers to the space inside or within the pleural cavity, although the terms “interpleural” (referring to the same space between the visceral and parietal pleurae) and “subpleural” (referring to below the parietal pleura) have also been used to describe the same space. Providing analgesia by infusing medications into the intrapleural space has been used in a variety of cases including but not limited to upper abdominal surgery, thoracic wall trauma, breast surgery, nephrostomy, esophagectomy, and thoracic surgery, in addition to chronic pain conditions such as chronic pancreatitis, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), and postherpetic neuralgia. It is a relatively simple technique to learn with a low incidence of complications and few contraindications. It involves placing a catheter into the tissue plane within the chest wall (the intrapleural space) so that infusion of local anesthetic spreads to several intercostal or paravertebral nerves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management Center, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 545 Ray. C. Hunt Drive, Suite 316, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA

    Kevin E. Vorenkamp M.D. & Lynn R. Kohan M.D.

Authors
  1. Kevin E. Vorenkamp M.D.
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  2. Lynn R. Kohan M.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kevin E. Vorenkamp M.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. President and CEO, Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology, The Center for Pain Relief, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Charleston, West Virginia, USA

    Timothy R. Deer

  2. Clinic Chief, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Stanford Pain Medicine Center, Redwood City, CA, USA, and Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA

    Michael S. Leong

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, Orthopedic Anesthesia, Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Asokumar Buvanendran

  4. Center for Interventional Pain & Spine, DE and Bryn Mawr, Newark, Pennsylvania, USA

    Philip S. Kim

  5. President, National Institute of Pain, Tampa, Florida, USA

    Sunil J. Panchal

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© 2015 American Academy of Pain Medicine

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Vorenkamp, K.E., Kohan, L.R. (2015). Intrapleural Catheters. In: Deer, T., Leong, M., Buvanendran, A., Kim, P., Panchal, S. (eds) Treatment of Chronic Pain by Interventional Approaches. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1824-9_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1824-9_19

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1824-9

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