A stellate ganglion block is an injection of a small amount of local anesthetic and steroid (anti-inflammatory) in the sympathetic nerve tissue of the neck which is located on either side of the voice box.
It blocks the nerves that go to the arms and to some degree the sympathetic nerves that go to the face. This may in turn reduce pain, swelling, color and sweating changes in the upper extremity and may improve mobility.
It may be performed if you are experiencing facial pain, neck pain, or arm pain as a result of the following: shingles affecting the trigeminal nerve or cervical and upper thoracic dermatomes; acute vascular insufficiency of the face and arms; chronic regional pain syndrome (RSD) of the face, neck, arms, and upper thorax; Raynaud’s syndrome of the arms; phantom limb pain; and sympathetically mediated pain from cancer.