Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation of the Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve for Chronic Refractory Meralgia Paresthetica.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Chronic pain affects over 51 million people and is associated with a poor quality of life. Meralgia Paresthetica is a chronic pain condition resulting from injury to the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive treatment option that has demonstrated efficacy for several nerve targets. However, limited research has focused on RFA targeting the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. This is the first study to date to investigate the outcomes of cooled RFA for the treating of refractory Meralgia Paresthetica.

RECENT FINDINGS: Data were retrospectively collected from the electronic medical records of patients treated with cooled lateral femoral cutaneous nerve RFA for Meralgia Paresthetica between 2014 and 2025. Eleven cases involving seven patients were included in this study. VAS scores decreased from 5.91 ± 1.22 at baseline to 3.05 ± 2.64 at follow-up (p < 0.001). Patients in nine of the eleven cases reported improvement in pain, with an average reduction of 64.8%. Duration of pain relief after cooled RFA was 6.92 ± 3.23 months for six cases with this data available. Cooled lateral femoral cutaneous nerve RFA is effective for many patients with Meralgia Paresthetica and may be offered for refractory cases.