Meningioma as a cause of chronic orofacial pain: case reports.

We describe two middle-aged men whose chronic orofacial pain was caused by underlying meningiomas. In both cases treatment was delayed because evolving dentoalveolar and possible chronic idiopathic facial pain had been investigated before presentation. Subsequent disturbances of the ipsilateral VII (and later VIII) nerves prompted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of one patient, while the possibility of a central lesion was recognised at presentation in the second, whose atypical focus of trigeminal neuralgia was labile within the ipsilateral distribution of the trigeminal nerve. Both cases highlight the importance of considering proximal intracranial lesions as a possible cause of atypical or refractory chronic orofacial pain so unnecessary delay in the diagnosis of otherwise operable tumours can be avoided.