Surgical management of trigeminal neuralgia in elderly patients using a small retrosigmoidal approach: analysis of efficacy and safety.

Background: Trigeminal neuralgia is one of the most common causes of facial pain with the highest incidence in individuals > 60 years old. Despite the proven efficacy and safety of microvascular decompression (MVD) for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, some physicians are reluctant to perform the procedure in elderly patients because of potential complications.

Material And Methods: In the present study, we analyze the outcome of MVDs performed over a 10-year period in elderly patients and compare the results with those obtained in younger patients.

Efficacy and safety of root compression of trigeminal nerve for trigeminal neuralgia without evidence of vascular compression.

Objective: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) surgical treatment with microvascular decompression is highly effective and safe, but for a percentage of patients who undergo this procedure, no vascular compression is found. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy with trigeminal root compression of the trigeminal nerve in patients with TN refractory to medical treatment who underwent neurosurgical management by a retrosigmoid approach of the cerebellopontine angle and were found to be negative for vascular compression.

Methods: A prospective collection of clinical data on all patients with a diagnosis of idiopathic TN was conducted at our institution.