ABSTRACT
Side effects are prevented by a technique which allows the cooperation of the patient to report untoward motor loss. Alcohol causes pain in the appropriate dermatomal distribution, phenol results in a sensation of warmth. These observations allow the conscious patient’s position to be altered slightly if, after injection, the target for the lesion has been missed. The block can be repeated, avoiding the risk of using too great a volume of neurolytic substance at any one time.
