Percutaneous retrogasserian glycerol rhizotomy for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia

1986 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Beck ◽  
Jeffrey J. Olson ◽  
Edward J. Urig
Keyword(s):  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Recurrence Rate ◽  
Sensory Loss ◽  
Additional Patient ◽  
Complete Relief ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Clinical Series ◽  
Corneal Reflex

✓ The treatment of trigeminal neuralgia by percutaneous retrogasserian glycerol rhizotomy was assessed in a series of 58 patients with a follow-up period ranging from 2 to 40 months postoperatively. All patients were considered medical failures prior to the procedure. Idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia was the diagnosis in 54 patients, and four patients had trigeminal neuralgia associated with multiple sclerosis. Forty-two patients (72%) reported complete relief from the procedure and are taking no medications. Four patients (7%) are much improved and require only minimal drug therapy. Twelve patients (21%) were considered treatment failures. The recurrence rate after initial relief of symptoms was 11%. Ten patients (17%) noticed a mild decrease in facial sensation following the procedure, and one additional patient had a profound sensory loss including loss of corneal reflex. The authors conclude that, while percutaneous retrogasserian glycerol rhizotomy may be useful in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, more clinical series and documentation of recurrence rate and complications are needed before any firm conclusions can be reached as to the efficacy of this therapy.

A prospective 15-year follow up of 154 consecutive patients with trigeminal neuralgia treated by percutaneous stereotactic radiofrequency thermal rhizotomy

1995 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 989-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamal M. Taha ◽  
John M. Tew ◽  
C. Ralph Buncher
Keyword(s):  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Target Lesion ◽  
Long Term Results ◽  
Sensory Loss ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Kaplan Meier ◽  
Corneal Reflex ◽  
Trigger Zone

✓ There is a lack of prospective studies for the long-term results of percutaneous stereotactic radiofrequency rhizotomy (PSR) in the treatment of patients with trigeminal neuralgia. The authors present results in 154 consecutive patients with trigeminal neuralgia treated by PSR and prospectively followed for 15 years. Ninety-nine percent of the patients obtained initial pain relief after one PSR. Dysesthesia occurred in 31 patients (23%): in 7% with mild initial hypalgesia; in 15% with dense hypalgesia; and in 36% with analgesia. Dysesthesia was mild and did not require treatment in most patients. The corneal reflex was absent or depressed in 29 patients, and keratitis developed in three patients. In 19 of 22 patients with trigeminal motor weakness, the paresis resolved within 1 year. Of 33 patients who had pain recurrence, 10 patients had pain that was mild or controlled with medications, and 23 patients required additional surgical treatment. The authors estimated using Kaplan—Meier analysis that the 14-year recurrence rate was 25% in the total group: 60% in patients with mild hypalgesia, 25% in those with dense hypalgesia, and 20% in those with analgesia. Timing of pain recurrence varied according to the degree of sensory loss. All pain recurrences in patients with mild hypalgesia occurred within 4 years after surgery; 10% more of the patients with dense hypalgesia had pain recurrences within the first 10 years compared with patients with analgesia. The median pain-free survival rate was 32 months for patients with mild hypalgesia and more than 15 years for patients with either analgesia or dense hypalgesia. Of the 100 patients followed for 15 years after one or two PSR procedures, 95 patients (95%) rated the procedure excellent (77 patients) or good (18 patients). The authors conclude that PSR is an effective, safe treatment for trigeminal neuralgia. Dense hypalgesia in the painful trigger zone, rather than analgesia, should be the target lesion.

Percutaneous microcompression of the trigeminal ganglion for trigeminal neuralgia

1983 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1007-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Mullan ◽  
Terry Lichtor
Keyword(s):  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
General Anesthesia ◽  
Recurrence Rate ◽  
Trigeminal Ganglion ◽  
Balloon Catheter ◽  
Morbidity Rate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Biplane Fluoroscopy ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Fifty patients were treated for trigeminal neuralgia by percutaneous microcompression of the trigeminal ganglion. A No. 4 Fogarty balloon catheter was inserted under brief general anesthesia, using biplane fluoroscopy. This procedure is essentially a percutaneous simplication of the older Taarnhøj-Sheldon-Pudenz operation. The follow-up period ranged from 0.5 to 4.5 years. Pain recurred in 12% of cases during that time, and it is anticipated that within 5 years the recurrence rate will reach 20%, which is approximately the same rate as for the alternative established procedures. The advantages of this technique are freedom from discomfort on the part of the patient, a remarkable ease of performance on the part of the operator, absence of associated mortality, and a minimal morbidity rate.

Gamma knife radiosurgery using 90 Gy for trigeminal neuralgia

2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 152-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Nicol ◽  
William F. Regine ◽  
Claire Courtney ◽  
Ali Meigooni ◽  
Michael Sanders ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Gamma Knife ◽  
Gamma Knife Radiosurgery ◽  
Complete Relief ◽  
Entry Zone ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Root Entry Zone ◽  
Good Pain Control ◽  
Fine Print

Object. The purpose of this paper was to assess the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) with the higher than normal dose of 90 Gy. Methods. Forty-two patients with typical TN were treated over a 3-year period with gamma knife radiosurgery. Every patient received a maximum dose of 90 Gy in a single 4-mm isocenter targeted to the root entry zone of the trigeminal nerve. Thirty of 42 patients had undergone no prior treatments. The median follow-up period was 14 months (range 2–30 months). Thirty-one patients (73.8%) achieved complete relief of pain. Nine patients (21.4%) obtained good pain control. Complications were limited to increased facial paresthesia in seven patients (16.7%) and dysgeusia in four patients (9.5%). Conclusions. The authors conclude that the use of 90 Gy is a safe and effective dose for the treatment of TN.

Sensory effects of microvascular decompression in trigeminal neuralgia

1997 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Miles ◽  
Paul R. Eldridge ◽  
Carol E. Haggett ◽  
David Bowsher
Keyword(s):  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Microvascular Decompression ◽  
Nerve Root ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Sensory Effects ◽  
Tomographic Angiography ◽  
Fine Print ◽  
Von Frey Filaments

✓ Nineteen patients with “idiopathic” trigeminal neuralgia, who had not undergone any previous interventional procedures, possessed a vessel or vessels compressing the preganglionic nerve root that was demonstrated by magnetic resonance tomographic angiography. Pain was relieved immediately in all of these patients after they underwent microvascular decompression without observed nerve damage. Although preoperative measurement of sensory perception thresholds showed elevations in the thresholds for touch (von Frey filaments) and warmth and coolness sensations, these thresholds normalized during the postoperative period. An apparent deficit in the pinprick (sharpness) sensation appeared postoperatively, but the deficit gradually regressed and completely disappeared by 1 year after surgery; this phenomenon may have been a statistical anomaly. The patients' pain disappeared immediately postoperatively and remained absent throughout the follow-up period. The authors conclude that damage to the nerve or nerve root is not essential for the relief of trigeminal neuralgia.

Glycerol rhizolysis for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia

1988 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald F. Young
Keyword(s):  
Pain Relief ◽  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Sensory Loss ◽  
Recurrent Pain ◽  
Pharmacological Agents ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Glycerol Injection ◽  
Glycerol Rhizolysis ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Percutaneous retrogasserian glycerol instillation was performed under local anesthesia for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in 162 patients. A simplified technique that did not involve cisternography was used. Initial pain relief was achieved in 146 patients (90.1%). Recurrent pain was noted in 27 patients (18.5%) and was more frequent (50%) in patients who had undergone surgical treatments prior to glycerol injection than in those who had no previous surgical treatment (12.3%). A second glycerol injection was carried out in nine patients and a third injection in two patients. The follow-up period extended from 6 to 67 months and 77.8% of patients are totally pain-free after one or more glycerol injections. Another 8.6% experienced good pain relief with the addition of small doses of pharmacological agents. Thus, 140 (86.4%) of the original 162 patients experienced satisfactory pain control following glycerol rhizolysis. Initial sensory loss on the face occurred in 117 patients (71.6%) but at last follow-up examination only 46 patients (28%) experienced mild orofacial hypalgesia and 13 patients (8%) noted analgesia. The corneal reflex was absent in three patients (1.8%) and reduced in five (3.1%). No patients noted corneal ulceration or anesthesia dolorosa. Percutaneous retrogasserian glycerol rhizolysis offers a rapid, safe, reliable, and relatively inexpensive surgical approach to treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.

Long-Term Results of Percutaneous Retrogasserian Thermorhizotomy for “Essential” Trigeminal Neuralgia: Considerations in 1000 Consecutive Patients

Neurosurgery ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 783-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Broggi ◽  
Angelo Franzini ◽  
Giovanni Lasio ◽  
Cesare Giorgi ◽  
Domenico Servello
Keyword(s):  
Pain Relief ◽  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Recurrence Rate ◽  
Sensory Deficit ◽  
Long Term Results ◽  
Cure Rate ◽  
Corneal Reflex ◽  
Permanent Morbidity

Abstract Long-term results (average follow-up, 9.3 years) obtained in 1000 consecutive patients suffering from cryptogenetic (“essential”) trigeminal neuralgia treated with percutaneous thermorhizotomy are analyzed. Pain relief was obtained in 95% of the treated patients. Permanent morbidity was as follows: masseter weakness in 105 patients; oculomotor palsies in 5 patients; weakening of the corneal reflex in 197 patients, 6 of whom requested an ocular operation for keratitis; and painful dysesthesia in 52 patients, 15 of whom developed a painful anesthesia syndrome. There was a recurrence rate of 18.1%, and a correlation between postoperative sensory deficit and the cure rate was found. These results are discussed and compared to the results obtained with different techniques.

Percutaneous trigeminal ganglion compression for trigeminal neuralgia

1989 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 900-904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Brown ◽  
Mark C. Preul
Keyword(s):  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Trigeminal Ganglion ◽  
Nerve Palsy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Root Section ◽  
Trigeminal Nerve Root ◽  
Corneal Reflex ◽  
Fine Print ◽  
Sixth Nerve

✓ Between 1983 and 1988, a percutaneous trigeminal ganglion compression (PTGC) procedure for trigeminal neuralgia was performed on 22 patients. All patients were initially relieved of their pain. There were three recurrences (14%); two of these patients underwent a second PTGC procedure and one a partial trigeminal nerve root section. Follow-up examination 3 to 53 months after the procedure showed that all patients were free of pain. Morbidity included persistent minor hypesthesia in five patients, persistent minor dysesthesias in three, persistent minor weakness in three, aseptic meningitis in one, transient sixth nerve palsy in one, and transient otalgia in three. None of the patients had either anesthesia dolorosa or an absent corneal reflex.

Percutaneous retrogasserian glycerol rhizotomy for patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia: a prospective analysis of factors related to pain relief

2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce E. Pollock
Keyword(s):  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Facial Pain ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Glycerol Injection ◽  
Pain Outcomes ◽  
Pain Outcome ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Fine Print

Object. The goal of this study was to analyze prospectively factors associated with facial pain outcomes after percutaneous retrogasserian glycerol rhizotomy (PRGR) for patients with medically unresponsive idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia. Methods. Between July 1999 and December 2003, 98 patients underwent PRGR in the manner described by Håkanson. The mean patient age was 72.1 years and the average pain duration prior to PRGR was 8.6 years. Fifty patients (51%) had previously undergone surgery. In six patients (6%), the trigeminal cistern could not be defined and the procedure was aborted; six patients were lost to follow-up review. An excellent facial pain outcome was defined as the absence of facial pain without medications. Thirty-two (35%) of 92 patients either received no benefit (17 patients) or experienced recurrent pain (15 patients) and required additional surgery at a mean of 7.5 months after PRGR; the mean duration of follow-up review in the other 60 patients was 28.7 months (range 3–52 months). Including patients who did not receive a glycerol injection, the 1- and 3-year chances of an excellent facial pain outcome were 61 and 50%, respectively. A multivariate analysis of clinical and surgical factors showed that the facial pain exhibited on glycerol injection correlated with excellent facial pain outcomes (relative risk [RR] = 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.26–1.77; p < 0.01), whereas patients who experienced any constant pain less frequently had excellent outcomes (RR = 1.13; 95% CI 0.06–2.20; p = 0.04). Forty-six patients (53%) experienced either mild numbness/parathesias (39 patients) or dysesthesias (seven patients). New trigeminal deficits after PRGR were associated with excellent facial pain outcomes (RR = 1.25; 95% CI 0.56–1.93; p < 0.001). Conclusions. Percutaneous retrogasserian glycerol rhizotomy remains a good operation for patients with medically unresponsive trigeminal neuralgia who are considered poor candidates for posterior fossa exploration. Predictive factors for success include patients without any constant facial pain, patients with immediate facial pain during glycerol injection, and patients with new trigeminal deficits after PRGR.

Gamma knife radiosurgery for recurrent trigeminal neuralgia

2002 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 536-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew G. Shetter ◽  
C. Leland Rogers ◽  
Francisco Ponce ◽  
Jeffrey A. Fiedler ◽  
Kris Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Gamma Knife ◽  
Gamma Knife Radiosurgery ◽  
Sensory Loss ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Facial Numbness ◽  
Second Procedure ◽  
Fine Print ◽  
New Onset

Object. Pain may fail to respond or may recur after initial gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) for trigeminal neuralgia (TN). The authors examined their experience with performing a second GKS procedure in these patients. Methods. Twenty-nine patients underwent repeated GKS for TN at our institution between March 1997 and March 2002. Questionnaires were mailed to patients to assess the degree of their pain relief and the extent of facial numbness. Nineteen patients responded. All patients underwent repeated GKS involving a single 4-mm isocenter directed at the trigeminal nerve as it exited the brainstem (mean maximum dose 23.2 Gy). At a mean follow up of 13.5 months after the second procedure, 10 patients (53%) were pain free and medication free. Four patients (21%) were pain free but elected to continue medication in reduced dose, and two patients (11%) had incomplete but satisfactory pain control and were still taking medication. There was new-onset facial numbness in eight patients (42%), rated as tolerable in all instances. Conclusions. Patients with facial numbness had a greater likelihood of being pain free than those with no sensory loss. The authors observed no cases of corneal anesthesia, keratitis, or deafferentation pain.

Evaluation of endorphin content in the CSF of patients with trigeminal neuralgia before and after Gasserian ganglion thermocoagulation

1981 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 935-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Salar ◽  
Salvatore Mingrino ◽  
Marco Trabucchi ◽  
Angelo Bosio ◽  
Carlo Semenza
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Gasserian Ganglion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Of Seven ◽  
Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The β-endorphin content in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was evaluated in 10 patients with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia during medical treatment (with or without carbamazepine) and after selective thermocoagulation of the Gasserian ganglion. These values were compared with those obtained in a control group of seven patients without pain problems. No statistically significant difference was found between patients suffering from trigeminal neuralgia and those without pain. Furthermore, neither pharmacological treatment nor surgery changed CSF endorphin values. It is concluded that there is no pathogenetic relationship between trigeminal neuralgia and endorphins.

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