Microvascular decompression for trigeminal neuralgia in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

The authors report on three patients suffering from coexistent trigeminal neuralgia (TGN) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease who, based on preoperative magnetic resonance tomographic angiography findings, underwent microvascular decompression. All patients had demonstrable neural compression and all experienced immediate postoperative pain relief. Symptoms recurred in one patient and required a second procedure in the form of a neurotomy. Two patients suffered from bilateral TGN. When a patient with TGN suffers coexistent neurological disease and experiences bilateral symptoms, preoperative imaging and subsequent decompressive surgery may avoid the unacceptable risk of morbidity associated with bilateral ablative procedures.