The celiac plexus is a group of nerves in the belly. These nerves are near the large blood vessels and the spine. They help control the activity of the stomach, kidneys, upper intestine, pancreas and liver. They also send pain signals to the nervous system from all of those organs.
Sometimes pain from those areas cannot be treated any other way. An injection will be done to try to reduce the pain. It is a very specialized procedure. It is done by our pain doctors at the request of other doctors.
More than one injection is needed at times, usually a few weeks apart. The first injection is with a numbing medicine and a steroid.
In certain cases destroying the nerves is needed, and other medications are used. The nerve-destroying injections have a higher risk. These are limited to patients with cancer pain.
