| Clinical Outcomes after Percutaneous Balloon Compression of the Trigeminal Ganglion in Elderly Patients with Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia |
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Seon-Tak Jin , Myung-Ki Lee , Jae-Sung Park , Jeong-Ho Kim , Yun-Suk Kim |
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Department of Neurosurgery, Maryknoll Medical Center, Busan, Korea |
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| Abstract |
Objective
We evaluated the efficacy of percutaneous balloon compression of the trigeminal ganglion in elderly patients older than 65 years of age with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia.
Methods
Sixty patients older than 65 years of age with follow-up of more than 12 months were retrospectively analyzed. The mean follow-up period was 63 months (range 12-118). The mean age was 69.5 years (range 65-91). Twenty patients (33%) had other previous surgical procedures. The balloon was inflated by injecting radio-contrast media 0.5 to 1.0 ml under brief general anesthesia according to Mullan’s technique using volume control. The mean inflating time was 73 seconds (range 45-120). Mean whole procedure time was about 24 minutes (range 15-90).
Results
We reported excellent and good results in 69% of the cases, poor in 3% as annoying dysesthesia, recurrence in 23%, and 5% failure due to technical deficiencies. Fifty four patients (90%) were initially relieved of their pain. There were permanent motor weakness of the massester muscle in 3% of patients and transitory diplopia in 3%. Neither anesthesia dolorosa nor keratitis occurred.
Conclusion
It is the simple technique that can be performed effectively in a brief period of general anesthesia. This makes it one of an attractive methods for the treatment of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia in elderly patients. |
| Key Words:
Idiopathic trigeminal neuralgiaㆍPercutaneous balloon compression |
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