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Treatment of intermetatarsal Morton?s neuroma with alcohol injection under US guide: 10-month follow-up

2004; Springer Science+Business Media; Volume: 14; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/s00330-003-2057-7

1432-1084

E Fanucci, Salvatore Masala, Sebastiano Fabiano, Dario Perugia, Ettore Squillaci, Viviana Varrucciu, Giovanni Simonetti,

Neurofibromatosis and Schwannoma Cases

Morton's neuroma (MN) is a frequent cause of metatarsalgia. The aim of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of neuroma alcohol-sclerosing therapy (NAST) under US guide in MN after a 10-month follow-up. Forty intermetatarsal neuromas underwent alcohol-sclerosing therapy after sonographic evaluation of their dimensions and echotexture. After subcutaneous anesthesia, a sclerosing solution composed of anesthetic (carbocaine-adrenaline 70%) and ethylic alcohol (30%) was injected inside the mass under US guidance. The procedure was repeated at intervals of 15 days until the resolution of the symptoms. A total or partial symptomatic relief was obtained in 36 cases (90%). No procedure-related complications were observed. Transitory plantar pain, due to the flogistic reaction induced by the sclerosing solution, occurred in 6 cases (15%). The 10-month follow-up revealed a 20-30% mass volume reduction and an adiposus-like change in echotexture. In the 4 cases (10%) of therapeutic failure, the preliminary sonography demonstrated a hypoechoic echotexture with a strong US beam attenuation corresponding to a highly fibrous neuroma after surgical resection. The NAST is a feasible and cost-efficient procedure with high rates of therapeutic success.