Abstract
Background: Occipital neuralgia is a debilitating condition and traditional treatments often provide limited or temporary relief. Recently, ultrasound-guided hydrodissection of the greater occipital nerve (GON) has emerged as a promising minimally invasive approach.
Objectives: To describe two novel ultrasound-guided hydrodissection with 5% dextrose for GON and discuss their advantages, disadvantages, and considerations.
Methods: Two case reports are presented. Case 1 describes a lateral decubitus approach
for hydrodissecting the GON between the semispinalis capitis (SSC) and obliquus capitis inferior (OCI) muscles. Case 2 details a cranial-to-caudal approach for hydrodissecting the GON within the SSC and upper trapezius (UT) muscles when the GON pass through these two muscles.
Results: Both patients experienced significant and sustained pain relief with improvements in function and quality of life.
Conclusions: Ultrasound-guided GON hydrodissection using 5% dextrose is a promising treatment for occipital neuralgia. The lateral decubitus and cranial to caudal approaches provide additional options to address patient-specific anatomical considerations and preferences.