[Microvascular decompression in the treatment of essential trigeminal neuralgia].

INTRODUCTION AND

OBJECTIVE

We pretend to evaluate the surgical procedure and clinical results of microvascular decompression (MVD) of 21 patients suffering from essential trigeminal neuralgia between 1989 and 1997.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

Selection criteria included: ineffectiveness of pharmacological treatment, good general condition, more than five years life expectancy, and do not have undergone ablative-lesive surgical procedures before.

RESULTS

After a post-surgical follow-up of between three months and three years, it was obtained a 100% success rate of immediate pain relief, with only a 14.2% recurrence. There were no sequels as those typically found in lesive techniques as paresthesias and dysesthesias, painful and/or corneal anaesthesia and motor disorders. There were no deaths, although there were three cases of post-surgical complications.

CONCLUSIONS

To evaluate the long-term results of different surgical techniques in the treatment of the essential trigeminal neuralgia is outstanding the patients satisfaction rate, which not only depends on pain relief and absence of recurrence, but also and very specially on the neurological deficiencies following the procedure. So, we consider that MVD is the most effective technique both in symptoms relief and neural functions and structures preservation, even though the possibility of appearance of complications following any major surgery.