Use of Double-Echo Steady-State (DESS) sequence in the evaluation of pudendal nerve- A pilot trial.

Abstract

Pudendal neuralgia is a common cause of chronic pelvic pain, especially in females. This is caused by pudendal nerve entrapment and can be a severely disabling neuropathic pain syndrome. It is currently a clinical diagnosis and most of the time a diagnosis of exclusion without definitive imaging criteria. We retrospectively compared DESS with the routine T2, T1 and DWI described in literature for the evaluation of pudendal nerves in patients with unresolved pelvic pain. Our study showed that DESS is effective and better than T2 and DWI combined sequences for diagnosing pudendal neuropathy.