How is Ganglion Impar Block Performed?
Ganglion Impar blocks are done as an outpatient procedure and can be done in a Clearway Surgery Center – with sedation (twilight sleep) if desired. During the procedure, your doctor will numb an area of skin on your back with a local anesthetic. Then, guided by an x-ray, he or she will:
- Insert two needles into your back, near each hip bone
- Under careful Live Xray guidance the needles will be positioned in the correct area
- Inject dye to confirm that medication will go to the correct spot
- Inject pain medication, sometimes including a steroid for longer-term relief
Ganglion Impar blocks may include a series of injections, repeated at weekly intervals, depending on your relief.
BOTOX Therapy Recovery
Patients may experience pain relief within a day after the injection, but pain may return a few hours later as the anesthetic wears off. Longer term relief usually begins in two to three days, once the steroid begins to work. How long the pain stays away is different for each patient. For some, the relief lasts weeks. For others, the relief lasts years. If the pain returns, you can have a repeat injection every few months.
Serious side effects and complications are uncommon. The most common side effect is pain and soreness at the injection site. Uncommon risks include infection, nerve damage, hypotension, and blood in the stool.
