Microvascular decompression for trigeminal neuralgia.
An analysis of 57 patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) treated with microvascular decompression (MVD) is presented. Mean follow-up time was 3.1 years. Vascular compression of the trigeminal nerve root was noted in 54 cases. In the remaining 3 patients, adhesions were observed in two, whereas no obvious cause was found in one case. Among the patients with vascular compression, 43 (80%) became painfree immediately after surgery, and have remained so during the observation period. There was an indisputable relationship between the degree of observed vascular compression of the nerve and long-term complete pain relief. There was no mortality in association with the surgery. Major morbidity was seen in 3.6%, and partial facial sensory loss was seen in seven patients (12%). The implications of these findings are discussed.
Dahle
L
L
Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospitals of Linköping, Sweden.
von Essen
C
C
Kourtopoulos
H
H
Ridderheim
P A
PA
Vavruch
L
L
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001158:Arteries / Q000601:surgery; D002530:Cerebellopontine Angle / Q000098:blood supply; D002550:Cerebral Veins / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000601:surgery*