Alcohol sclerosing injections Vs Alcohol neurolytic injections

The second type of alcohol injection is a neurolytic alcohol injection done with much higher concentrations of alcohol. (We use more than 10 times the dose of the sclerosing injection.) In effect these injections deaden the neuroma and completely remove the neuroma’s ability to transmit pain and stop the neuroma from growing. Since these injections are done with much higher alcohol concentrations, they should always be done under Ultrasound guidance by clinicians who are highly experienced in doing these. They are very effective and recent research shows that they have over 85% efficacy. We believe the efficacy of these is even higher when done by an experienced clinician under ultrasound guidance. This injection may shrink the neuroma but that is unlikely – it just kills it and usually results in very little complications aside for some minor numbness which is less than the size of a penny in the webspace. The numbness lasts about 6 months. Usually one or two injections are required for full pain relief and then the pain relief is usually permanent. Rarely, the nerve can regrow and it may become irritating or painful again although if that occurs it’s usually after 6-8 years and then it requires a single repeat neurolytic injection. To read the medical studies on the effectiveness of neurolytic injections for Morton’s neuroma click here.