Neuroma Treatment in Dubai
Overview
Amputation of a limb almost always leads to the formation of neuromas. Neuromas are disorders that can be extremely painful and severely crippling, limiting the use of prosthetics and lowering the quality of life. The pain caused due to neuromas is sometimes referred to as ‘residual limb pain.’
Understanding Neuromas - Introduction
During the amputation of a limb, the nerves that attach a limb to the brain and central nervous system are severed at one end. The severed nerves aren’t able to heal normally. So the damaged nerve fibers may spread during this process and develop into a mass known as a neuroma. This lump can cause mild to severe discomfort by sending the brain conflicting messages.
So, we may define a neuroma as an uncontrolled growth of nerve cells at the site of a damaged nerve.
This phenomenon often occurs after 1 to 2 months of the amputation. Neuroma-related pain can sometimes resemble phantom limb pain and may be difficult to distinguish as it may not be felt in a single spot.
Symptoms of Neuroma
A neuroma can be identified externally by the following symptoms:
- When the skin around a neuroma is touched, or any pressure is applied, there may be localised, intense, burning pain.
- A neuroma can sometimes be exceedingly painful and cause the patient to lose considerable function.
- It may also make it impossible to wear a prosthesis.
- A neuroma may even cause shooting pain, numbness, and tingling and become a primary reason for phantom pain (pain felt in a missing limb).
Diagnosis of Neuroma
It can be challenging to identify the type of pain if it is in your residual limb. So discussing your experiences with your doctor, prosthetist, and physical or occupational therapist is crucial.
Your prosthetic fitting will need to be examined to determine whether the socket is to blame for your pain. The doctor will also determine the possibility of phantom pain and offer some viable treatments.
If a neuroma is suspected, it can be demonstrated by gentle tapping to elicit symptoms and assess for the presence of a neuroma.
Neuroma treatment
A neuroma may be treated with medicines and steroid injections. However, the effectiveness is limited. Surgery now has the potential to permanently cure neuromas and prevent their recurrence, with a high probability of relieving neuroma pain in amputees.
RPNI Surgery
RPNI is the latest effective method to treat neuroma limb pain. RPNI surgery involves the removal of neuroma or the lump at the end of your nerve, which is the cause of chronic pain. The next step is to take muscle grafts from another area of your body, such as your thigh. In order to “reinnervate” the severed muscle, the surgeon will wrap the muscle graft around its end. This promotes the nerve fibres to connect with the muscle. Once the nerve has “somewhere to go and something to do,” it stops attempting to grow and does not reform a neuroma.
Targeted Muscle Reinnervation Surgery
If there are muscles local to the neuroma which have no function following the amputation, the troublesome nerve can be re-routed into this muscle. The nerve grows into the intact muscle and does not form another neuroma. Interestingly, once the nerve is connected to the muscle, the brain begins to receive coordinated signals from the muscle – which also lessens phantom limb pain (PLP) in some patients.
Why choose Dr Demetrius Evriviades for Neuroma treatment in Dubai?
Dr Demetrius Evriviades is regarded as one of the most popular doctors in the field of amputation rehabilitation worldwide and the related treatments post-amputation surgery. He has been treating amputee patients for over two decades. He served over 22 years in the Royal Air Force in the UK, Ireland, and Afghanistan, where he treated some of the most severe amputation cases of soldiers ever seen. He is also known for treating International paralympic athletes.
If pain is a problem, he assists in identifying and analysing the type of pain and its potential causes. If there is an issue with the prosthetic fit, he addresses them promptly and, if necessary, offers procedures including TMR and RPNI surgery.
Feel free to get in touch with Dr Demetrius for effective neuroma treatment in Dubai.