Stellate Ganglion Block as a Palliative Treatment in Hemiplegia

Hemiplegia due to cerebral vascular lesion is frequently encountered in practice. Cerebral hemorrhage is usually fatal. Cases of cerebral thrombosis and embolism usually survive to live as hemiplegics for the rest of their life. Amongst them there is great variation as regards the degree of recovery of the power of paralysed limbs. There are the few fortunate patients who recover their power to a surprisingly great extent in a short time, together with recovery of speech to a less extent, in cases of aphasia. (Here it may be mentioned that in right-handed persons though aphasia was not encountered by the writer in left-sided hemiplegia, it was not always present in rightsided hemiplegia.) There is a fairly large proportion of patients who do not recover any power. Their affected extremities remain out of control, and are consequently incapable of any voluntary movement. The recovery of speech, if lost, is slow and very imperfect. These pathetic victims survive only to spend the rest of their life as crippled wrecks depending on the mercy of others. If the earning member is so affected, it presents a great economic problem to the whole family. Under these conditions if anything can be done to ameliorate the condition of the patient with the prospect of making him physically independent, and, in most favourable cases, even to resume his life as bread-winner for the family, it must be welcome. With this view we tried