Descompressão neurovascular na nevralgia do trigêmeo: análise de 70 casos

Abstract

This paper analyses the surgical findings and results obtained with the neurovascular decompression technique in the treatment of 70 patients with essential trigeminal neuralgia. Except for 3 patients in whom nothing was found, vessels were seen touching or compressing the nerve root in all the other patients, being the arteries responsible for the pain in 73% of the cases. The surgical results improved with the increased familiarity of the technique, being of 73% the excellent results obtained in the first group of 23 patients, and 95% in the remaining two groups. Only 3 patients were lost in the follow-up which ranged from 2 months to 4 years. Recurrences occurred in 4 patients. There were no important complications except for a death from a post-operative gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Our results and those published in the literature confirm that neurovascular decompression is a safe procedure in experienced hands, and that it should be the chosen method in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in order to preserve the sensibility of the face.