Glossopharyngeal neuralgia

1977 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranjit K. Laha ◽  
Peter J. Jannetta

✓ Various factors have been considered in the etiology and pathogenesis of glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Vascular compression of the involved cranial nerves has been demonstrated in sporadic cases. In this series of six patients, it was noted with the aid of the operating microscope that the ninth and tenth cranial nerves were compressed by a tortuous vertebral artery or posterior inferior cerebellar artery at the nerve root entry zone in five cases. In selected patients, microvascular decompression without section of the nerves may result in a cure.

1991 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinji Nagahiro ◽  
Akira Takada ◽  
Yasuhiko Matsukado ◽  
Yukitaka Ushio

✓ To determine the causative factors of unsuccessful microvascular decompression for hemifacial spasm, the follow-up results in 53 patients were assessed retrospectively. The mean follow-up period was 36 months. There were 32 patients who had compression of the seventh cranial nerve ventrocaudally by an anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) or a posterior inferior cerebellar artery. Of these 32 patients, 30 (94%) had excellent postoperative results. Of 14 patients with more severe compression by the vertebral artery, nine (64%) had excellent results, three (21%) had good results, and two (14%) had poor results; in this group, three patients with excellent results experienced transient spasm recurrence. There were seven patients in whom the meatal branch of the AICA coursed between the seventh and eighth cranial nerves and compressed the dorsal aspect of the seventh nerve; this was usually associated with another artery compressing the ventral aspect of the nerve (“sandwich-type” compression). Of these seven patients, five (71%) had poor results including operative failure in one and recurrence of spasm in four. The authors conclude that the clinical outcome was closely related to the patterns of vascular compression.


1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akinori Kondo

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN) is an uncommon disorder that is characterized by a severe lancinating pain commonly induced by swallowing. There has been some debate among various authors as to which surgical procedure should be adopted to treat cases of GPN: microvascular decompression (MVD) or partial rhizotomy. The latter necessitates the partial destruction of normal neural structures. Object. The purpose of this paper is to present follow-up results in patients with GPN who underwent MVD. Methods. Between 1980 and 1995, 20 patients underwent MVD for GPN. Results were studied to verify the effectiveness of MVD performed in 16 patients before 1991 who participated in follow-up evaluation for more than 5 years postoperatively. The follow-up period ranged from 5 to 16 years (mean ± standard deviation 11.6 ± 2.8 years). The method adopted for MVD was to reposition the offending vessel, such as a troublesome vertebral artery or posterior inferior cerebellar artery that is commonly ectatic and arteriosclerotic, by lifting the loop of the artery and using glue to affix it to the nearby dura mater of the petrous bone. Conclusions. Pain was relieved in all cases. Two patients complained of persistent mild hoarseness, causing the inability to speak loudly, and two patients complained of occasional coughing episodes that occurred for a couple of years after the surgery. No other complications were reported and no recurrence of pain was noted during the follow-up period. This procedure provided satisfactory results by preserving important perforating arteries in this area and by repositioning offending arteries in a safer and surer fashion, thus reducing complications and recurrence of GPN.


1984 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 949-951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce R. Cook ◽  
Peter J. Jannetta

✓ The syndrome of tic convulsif consists of ipsilateral concurrent trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm. Since Cushing's 1920 description of this syndrome in three patients, 37 additional cases have been reported in the world literature. Of the 15 with adequate operative descriptions, 10 had vascular abnormalities and five had tumors. The authors report 11 cases of tic convulsif treated by microvascular decompression of both the fifth and seventh cranial nerves. At operation, 21 of 22 nerves were found to have root entry zone vascular compression. One trigeminal nerve was considered normal. One seventh nerve had a tumor displacing the anterior inferior cerebellar artery into its root entry zone. The average follow-up period in this series was 6 years 2 months (range 1 to 8½ years). Eight patients (73%) were pain-free, two (18%) had frank recurrences, and one (9%) had mild discomfort. Eight patients (73%) were totally free of facial spasm, and two others (18%) had only a trace of residual spasm. These results are comparable to those achieved by treating the individual syndromes with microvascular decompression. Therefore, microvascular decompression of both the fifth and seventh cranial nerves is recommended as the treatment of choice in tic convulsif.


1981 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 414-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaine S. Nashold ◽  
Elizabeth Bullitt

✓ Thirteen patients with intractable long-term pain following spinal cord injury and paraplegia were treated with dorsal root entry zone lesions placed at the level just above the transection. Pain relief of 50% or more was achieved in 11 of the 13 patients, with follow-up periods ranging from 5 to 38 months. A previous report showed that central pain from brachial plexus avulsion could be relieved by dorsal root entry zone lesions, and this technique has been extended to the central pain phenomena associated with spinal trauma and paraplegia.


2004 ◽  
Vol 101 (5) ◽  
pp. 872-873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim J. Burchiel ◽  
Thomas K. Baumann

✓ The origin of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) appears to be vascular compression of the trigeminal nerve at the root entry zone; however, the physiological mechanism of this disorder remains uncertain. The authors obtained intraoperative microneurographic recordings from trigeminal ganglion neurons in a patient with TN immediately before percutaneous radiofrequency-induced gangliolysis. Their findings are consistent with the idea that the pain of TN is generated, at least in part, by an abnormal discharge within the peripheral nervous system.


1996 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 818-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred G. Barker ◽  
Peter J. Jannetta ◽  
Ramesh P. Babu ◽  
Spiros Pomonis ◽  
David J. Bissonette ◽  
...  

✓ During a 20-year period, 26 patients with typical symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia were found to have posterior fossa tumors at operation. These cases included 14 meningiomas, eight acoustic neurinomas, two epidermoid tumors, one angiolipoma, and one ependymoma. The median patient age was 60 years and 69% of the patients were women. Sixty-five percent of the symptoms were left sided. The median preoperative duration of symptoms was 5 years. The distribution of pain among the three divisions of the trigeminal nerve was similar to that found in patients with trigeminal neuralgia who did not have tumors; however, more divisions tended to be involved in the tumor patients. The mean postoperative follow-up period was 9 years. At operation, the root entry zone of the trigeminal nerve was examined for vascular cross-compression in 21 patients. Vessels compressing the nerve at the root entry zone were observed in all patients examined. Postoperative pain relief was frequent and long lasting. Using Kaplan—Meier methods the authors estimated excellent relief in 81% of the patients 10 years postoperatively, with partial relief in an additional 4%.


1983 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Viñuela ◽  
Allan J. Fox ◽  
Shinichi Kan ◽  
Charles G. Drake

✓ A case is reported of a large spontaneous right posterior inferior cerebellar artery fistula in which the patient presented with a right cerebellopontine (CP) angle and right cerebellar syndrome. The patient was successfully treated by balloon occlusion at the fistula site. The location of the arteriovenous fistula, the mass effect of its enlarged draining veins on the cerebellum and CP angle structures, and the simple therapeutic endovascular occlusion with a detachable balloon make this case unique.


1996 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang Youl Lee ◽  
Laligam N. Sekhar

✓ The authors report three cases of ruptured, large or giant aneurysms that were treated by excision or trapping, followed by revascularization of distal vessels by means of arterial reimplantation or superficial temporal artery interpositional grafting. In the first case, a large serpentine aneurysm arising from the anterior temporal branch of the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) was excised and the distal segment of the anterior temporal artery was reimplanted into one of the branches of the MCA. In the second case, a giant aneurysm, fusiform in shape, arose from the rolandic branch of the MCA. This aneurysm was totally excised and the M3 branch in which it had been contained was reconstructed with an arterial interpositional graft. In the third case the patient, who presented with a subarachnoid hemorrhage, had a dissecting aneurysm that involved the distal portion of the left vertebral artery. In this case the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) arose from the wall of the aneurysm and coursed onward to supply the brainstem. This aneurysm was managed by trapping and the PICA was reimplanted into the ipsilateral large anterior inferior cerebellar artery. None of the patients suffered a postoperative stroke and all recovered to a good or excellent postoperative condition. These techniques allowed complete isolation of the aneurysm from the normal blood circulation and preserved the blood flow through the distal vessel that came out of the aneurysm. These techniques should be considered as alternatives when traditional means of cerebral revascularization are not feasible.


2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Pasco ◽  
Francine Thouveny ◽  
Xavier Papon ◽  
Jean-Yves Tanguy ◽  
Philippe Mercier ◽  
...  

✓ The posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) is known to be very variable, and some of its anatomical variations can explain ischemic complications that occur during endovascular treatment of aneurysms. The authors report two cases of anatomical variation of the PICA that they have called its double origin, one of which gave rise to an aneurysm. The first patient was a 36-year-old man who presented with a subarachnoid hemorrhage related to the rupture of a PICA aneurysm. The aneurysm was treated by the endovascular route. Selective and superselective studies showed that the PICA origin was low on the fourth segment of the vertebral artery (VA). The aneurysm was located on an anastomosis between the PICA and a small upper arterial branch originating from the VA. Embolization was performed through the small branch with no problem, but a lateral medullary infarct followed, probably due to occlusion of the perforating vessels. The same anatomical variation was incidentally discovered in the second patient. To the authors' knowledge, neither this anatomical variation of the PICA nor the aneurysm's topography have been previously described angiographically. This highlights the role of angiography in pretreatment evaluation of aneurysms especially when perforating vessels or small accessory branches that are poorly visualized on angiographic studies are concerned, as in the territory of the PICA. Anatomy is sometimes unpredictable, and the surgeon must be very careful when confronted with these variations because they are potentially dangerous for endovascular treatment.


2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Michael Lemole ◽  
Jeffrey Henn ◽  
Sam Javedan ◽  
Vivek Deshmukh ◽  
Robert F. Spetzler

✓ Cerebral revascularization is often required for the surgical treatment of complex intracranial aneurysms. In certain anatomical locations, vascular anatomy and redundancy make in situ bypass possible. The authors present four patients who underwent revascularization performed using the rarely reported posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA)—PICA in situ bypass after their aneurysms had been trapped. At Barrow Neurological Institute, between 1991 and the present, four male patients underwent PICA—PICA bypasses to treat aneurysms involving the vertebral artery, the PICA, or both. The mean age of these patients was 34 years (range 5–49 years). Follow-up studies revealed patent bypasses and no evidence of infarction. Patient outcomes were excellent or good. Multiple surgical techniques have been described for revascularization of at-risk cerebral territories. Often, the blood supply must be derived from extracranial sources through a mobilized pedicle or interposited graft. Certain anatomical locations such as the vertebrobasilar junction, the anterior circle of Willis, and the middle cerebral artery bifurcation are amenable to in situ bypass because there is vessel redundancy or proximity to the contralateral analogous vessel. The advantages of an in situ bypass include one suture line, a short bypass distance, and a close match with the caliber of the recipient graft. Although technically challenging, this technique can be successful and should be considered for appropriate candidates.


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