title: Endoscope-assisted microvascular decompression of the trigeminal nerve.
abstract: Twenty-one patients with classic symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia underwent microvascular decompression of the trigeminal nerve through a retrosigmoid approach to the cerebellopontine angle. Endoscopy was used as an adjunctive imaging modality to microscopy. Specifically, endoscopes were used to confirm nerve-vessel conflicts identified by the microscope and to reveal others that escaped microscopic survey. Endoscopes were also used to assess the adequacy of the decompression performed microscopically. A total of 51 nerve-vessel conflicts were identified and treated, 14 of which were discovered only after endoscopy. Additionally, in 5 patients endoscopic examination of the surgical intervention demonstrated that further maneuvers were required to completely decompress the nerve. These results highlight the value of endoscopy in the diagnosis and therapy of cranial nerve pathology in the posterior fossa.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, New York University Medical Center, NY, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jarrahy
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Berci
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Shahinian
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D004724:Endoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008866:Microsurgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D014276:Trigeminal Nerve / Q000601:surgery*; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000601:surgery*