Interventional Pain Therapies: Complications, Preventive Strategies, and Risk-Management

Abstract

Experience is the name we give to our past mistakes.(Oscar Wilde, 1854–1900) Every physician performing interventional pain therapies has been there—something goes wrong, a complication occurs, and a patient is harmed. The underlying question is “What will you do when this occurs?” A possible response is to ignore it and deny that it occurred—no documented paper trail. Perhaps you recognize the complication, inform the patient, and modify your practice behavior to minimize future similar events. Which answer sounds more familiar to you? Despite …