Author(s)

Conor O’Brien

Consultant Clinical Neurophysiologist, National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.

A 62-year-old woman presented with an 8-year history of chronic persisting pelvic pain. She described constant throbbing, stabbing vaginal pain. A pelvic floor neurophysiological assessment of the pudendal nerve was performed by performing a needle EMG to the left and right external anal sphincter assessing for insertional activity and recruitment pattern. A quantitative assessment of the motor unit action potentials [MUAPs] was also performed. Tests confirmed a left pudendal neuropathy with chronic denervation in the left external anal sphincter, with reasonable muscle function, with a recruitment pattern of 65% - 70% of normal. The CAR showed an elevated sensory threshold with a normal distal latency. All other conventional pudendal nerve treatments including oral antiepileptic medication, neuromodulation and pudendal nerve blocking injections had failed, and the patient was exacerbated by the persisting pain and discomfort. In this case, 30 international units (iu) of botulinum toxin type A in 10 divided doses of 3 iu were injected along the nerve. Four days later the patient reported a significant improvement in the pain symptoms. She was reviewed 3 weeks later and for the first time in 8 years had made the 70 mile journey to the clinic as a passenger in her husband’s car. This case highlights a new therapeutic option of botulinum toxin type A injection, along the nerve length, for this common painful condition. It seems to have clinical veracity as unlike other therapeutic option the affect lasts for 3 or 4 months.

Pudendal Neuropathy, Vaginal Birth, Pelvic Pain, Migraine, Pelvic Migraine, Botulinum Toxin Injection, Pelvic Floor Neurophysiology

O’Brien, C. (2015) A Case of Pelvic Migraine. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 5, 672-675. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2015.511095.