Papers of the Week

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the lumbar facet joints has demonstrated efficacy in the management of chronic low back pain. The traditional technique uses a conventional monopolar (CM) cannula placed parallel to the putative nerve to produce a thermal lesion resulting in pain relief of the facet joints. A new multi-tined (MT) cannula has come onto the market that allows targeting the putative nerve using a perpendicular to the nerve approach.