title: [Invasive management of trigeminal neuralgia. 8 years experience].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is characterized by stereotyped repetitive, unilateral pain, referred as an electric shock, triggered by the stimulation of the rami of the trigeminy nerve. It presents more frequently in women. The aim is to know the efficacy of surgical treatment of TN against pain by means of microvascular decompressive technics (MDT) and balloon percutaneous microcompression (BPM).
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study was performed from January 2005 to January 2013, including 73 patients treated for TN. Sixty patients from group 1 (82 %) were treated with MDT, and 13 from group 2 with BPM. We evaluated the presence of pain in patients during the immediate postoperative period, and at 1, 3 and 5 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  55 female patients and 18 male patients were included. The mean age of presentation for TN was 55 years. In group 1 there was pain remission in the immediate postoperative period in 95% of the cases, in 92% at one year, 91% at 3 years and 88% at 5 years; in group 2 in 85%, 84%, 84% and 70%, respectively. There were no lethal complications in 6.5% in group 1 and in 28% in group 2.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The two therapeutic procedures reduced pain of TN in a long term in most patients. Our results show high and perdurable resolution of the pain with negligible morbimortality.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Neurocirugía, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional La Raza, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Distrito Federal. lejamajm_729@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sandoval-Balanzario
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Álvarez-Vázquez
authors.forename: Jorge Arturo
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Santos-Franco
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D061145:Microvascular Decompression Surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Microvascular decompression; Trigeminal; Trigeminal neuralgia