Stellate ganglion block offers hope for PTSD treatments

There is no "one size fits all" for treating PTSD. If something doesn't work, keep looking until you and your doctor find the right treatment. Medication helps some but what may work for a friend, may not work for you. Therapy works but again, what kind of therapy that works for someone you know may not be right for you. Keep trying and you'll find what you need to heal.

Jab to the neck treats PTSD?
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Dr. Jay Adlersberg

Eyewitness News
NEW YORK (WABC) -- All it takes is one loud noise to trigger a flood of awful memories. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) haunts one in every six soldiers coming back from Iraq, and nearly eight million Americans in all. Standard treatment means therapy and medications that don't always work and have side effects. Now, one doctor is treating PTSD with an injection that he says can block the painful memories.


"I was firing a rocket propelled grenade (RPG). When I pulled the trigger, it malfunctioned, and it blew up in the tube. Injured seven marines and killed three, all good friends of mine," said John Sullivan, an Iraq Veteran.

Thirteen surgeries, several skin grafts, and two years of therapy later, Sullivan is in a much more peaceful place, but that doesn't mean he's safe from the effects of war.

"The way I look at PTSD, it's a biological problem. It's no different than a broken arm," said Dr. Eugene Lipov, the Medical Director of the Advanced Pain Center.

Dr. Lipov is the first to use a local anesthetic to treat PTSD. It's called stellate ganglion block (SGB). It's been used since the 1920s to treat pain.

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Jab to the neck treats PTSD