Case perspective
How a typical case of pudendal nerve block unfolds — from first symptom to a named diagnosis — in the practice of Prof. Dr Renaud Bollens.
An image-guided pudendal nerve block places local anaesthetic precisely around the nerve. If the pain drops substantially for the duration of the anaesthetic, that is powerful evidence the pudendal nerve is generating the pain.
A block is a diagnostic instrument first and a treatment second. Temporary relief is useful information; lasting relief is a bonus. Either way the response shapes what happens next.
Dr Bollens uses block response, symptom mapping and imaging together. Surgery is only recommended when those three lines of evidence agree — which is why we decline to operate on some patients who come to us expecting it.
Every case at Pelvic Institute is assessed by the operating surgeon, with more than 600 pelvic procedures behind that judgment.