Intracranial ablative surgery in the treatment of chronic pain

This article reviews the historical and current options available for the intracranial ablative neurosurgical treatment of pain. For the current procedures (including nucleus caudalis DREZotomy, stereotactic mesencephalic tractotomy, medial thalamotomy, and cingulotomy), the authors review recent studies on effectiveness and complication rates. The authors also refer to their own personal experience with some of these procedures.