Trigeminal neuralgia is short-term “lightning” pain that hits the face. Often the pain comes with a triggering factor, such as eating, drinking, touching, talking, or washing the face. This pain is often caused by arterial pressure on the facial sensory nerve (trigeminus) in the head (between the cerebellum and brainstem). This pain can be relieved primarily with medication. However, drug therapy does not provide permanent pain control, it only relieves the pain as long as the drug is taken. In addition, problems such as the emergence of side effects or the loss of effect of the drug over time may occur in drug treatment. Nevertheless, it is a correct option to start the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia with drug therapy.
In cases where drug therapy is insufficient in trigeminal neuralgia, surgical treatment methods may be effective in relieving pain. The main of these methods are trigeminal radiofrequency rhizotomy (RF), microvascular decompression, trigeminal glycerol rhizolysis, trigeminal balloon micro-compression and “gamma-knife” applications. In relation to these treatment modalities, the best known and proven efficacy in large case series are: trigeminal radiofrequency rhizotomy (RF) and microvascular decompression. Other methods may also be effective in treatment; however, it has been applied in smaller groups and is mostly performed in patients for whom other treatment methods are not effective. Although surgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia is effective, it is nervous system interventions that can cause serious side effects; During interventions, brain membranes, brain tissue or cranial nerves are worked close to, and therefore it must be done by neurosurgeons (neurosurgeons).
Prof. Dr. Ali Savas
