Dr. Aguila - What is Peripheral Nerve Surgery?
Demetrio J. Aguila III, MD, FACS, is a top peripheral nerve surgeon, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeon, otolaryngologist, and medical acupuncturist who lends his skills and expertise to serve patients at his private practice, Healing Hands of Nebraska, in Norfolk, Nebraska. Dr. Aguila is also Chairman of the Department... more
Peripheral nerve surgery in recent years has been used to treat chronic pain and numbness. The peripheral nervous system consists of all the nerves that are outside of the brain and the spinal cord: the nerves in your arms and legs, in your face, and in your abdomen and chest. The ideal patient for peripheral nerve surgery has had chronic pain for more than three months. The patient’s pain has not been relieved by non-surgical methods including physical therapy or medication. Additional testing is helpful in determining if surgery is the right decision for the patient.
Many patients have chronic pain due to diabetic neuropathy, chemotherapy treatments, trauma, or surgery. The surgery is performed through several small incisions in an outpatient operation. By dividing the nerves, the surgeon can provide slight numbness of the skin which in turn provides pain relief. This can decrease or even eliminate the source of the patient’s chronic pain.
