Trigeminal neuralgia in patients with cerebellopontine angle tumors: should we always blame the tumor? A case report and review of literature.

OBJECTIVES

This report seeks to highlight a pitfall that may be encountered in the management of patients with trigeminal neuralgia with imaging showing both neurovascular conflict as well as tumors.

CASE PRESENTATION: A case of a 53 year old male with simultaneous neurovascular conflict and a vestibular schwannoma with trigeminal neuralgia is presented and the management is discussed with reference to managing this particular subset. Pain was noted to be likely generated by neurovascular conflict and not by the tumor, which is usually not the case.

CONCLUSIONS

It is suggested that in such cases, microvascular decompression should always be performed in addition to removal of the tumor.