title: Glossopharyngeal neuralgia treated with gamma knife surgery: treatment outcome and failure analysis. Case report.
abstract: Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN) is a rare condition in which patients present with intractable deep throat pain. Similar to trigeminal neuralgia (TN), treatment with microvascular decompression (MVD) has been successful in both. Because gamma knife surgery (GKS) has also been shown to be effective in treating TN, it seemed reasonable to apply it to GPN. The authors present the first report of GKS-treated GPN in a patient who presented with severe, poorly controlled GPN and who refused MVD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1030, USA. vstieber@wfubmc.edu
authors.forename: Volker W
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Stieber
authors.forename: J Daniel
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bourland
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Ellis
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005930:Glossopharyngeal Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D016634:Radiosurgery / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017211:Treatment Failure; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*