Trigeminal nucleus caudalis dorsal root entry zone: a new surgical approach.
New radiofrequency lesion dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) electrodes for relief of facial pain were designed based on a neuroanatomic study in man of the trigeminal nucleus caudalis at the cervicomedullary junction. The human brainstems of 3 normal postmortem specimens were sectioned with measurements and relationships of the trigeminal nucleus caudalis, segmental tracts, spinocerebellar tracts and dorsal columns. Two right-angle DREZ electrodes were made by Radionics for producing DREZ lesions in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis to treat deafferentation facial pain.
Nashold
B S
BS
Division of Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
el-Naggar
A
A
Mawaffak Abdulhak
M
M
Ovelmen-Levitt
J
J
Cosman
E
E
D001933:Brain Stem / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D004566:Electrodes; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D014278:Trigeminal Nuclei / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery*; D014279:Trigeminal Nucleus, Spinal / Q000033:anatomy & histology*