Abstract
PurposeTo summarize the technical points and clinical effects of percutaneous balloon compression (PBC) in the treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia.MethodsThe clinical data of 13 patients with trigeminal neuralgia who received PBC from April 2020 to July 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. VAS, VRS-4 and PPI were used to evaluate the postoperative pain relief. Different postoperative complications were analyzed.ResultsAll patients had a smooth operation, the inflation volume of the balloon was 0.7 ml, the average compression time was 120 s, and there was no balloon rupture during the operation. On the day after operation, 12 patients (92.3%) had complete pain relief, and 1 patient (7.7%) was not satisfied with pain relief, but the pain disappeared 2 weeks after the operation. After operation, there were 12 patients with facial numbness in the affected side (92.3%), 3 patients with masseter muscle weakness (23.0%), 1 patient with herpes around the mouth (7.6%), and 1 patient with diplopia (7.6%).ConclusionPBC is an effective minimally invasive surgical method for the treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia. It is suitable for the elderly and infirm people, those who cannot tolerate general anesthesia or are afraid of surgery, and patients who had undergone surgery but relapsed after surgery. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the serious facial numbness and postoperative masticatory weakness. These discomforts are generally relieved after half a year.
Highlights
Trigeminal neuralgia is the most common facial neuralgia in clinic
The pathogenesis of primary trigeminal neuralgia has not been uniformly recognized by the medical community, but at present, most scholars believe that it is related to the central lesion theory and the peripheral pathogen theory
The long-term follow-up results show that gamma knife has a certain curative effect on trigeminal neuralgia, there are a large number of literature reports that the early postoperative complete pain relief rate is quite different (21.8–80%), and the rate of complete pain relief 10 years later was lower (45.3%), and the related surgical complications and the recurrence rate of pain are high [13]
Summary
Trigeminal neuralgia is the most common facial neuralgia in clinic. The clinical manifestations of patients with trigeminal neuralgia are not obvious between the two attacks, but with the development of the disease, dull pain or even persistent pain may occur in the later stage of the disease, and the pain may last for more than 1 h. Carbamazepine, as the firstline drug at present, can effectively relieve the pain. After taking it for a long time, the curative effect will decrease, and the patient stops taking the medicine because of the pain that cannot be tolerated and seek surgical treatment [5, 6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
