[Balloon compression for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia]

The authors present a retrospective study of 121 patients treated with balloon compression of the rootlets behind the Gasser ganglion from 1995 to 2007. The inclusion criteria were drug-resistant idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia. The authors described the surgical technique and compared their results with results from the literature. The following parameters were compared: technical success, pain relief and recurrence, and complications. Balloon compression is considered in the literature to be a safer procedure than other percutaneous surgeries, especially for postoperative sensitive disorders. The best indications seem to be trigeminal neuralgia in older patients or pain due to multiple sclerosis and neuralgia involving the V1 territory. These conclusions should be confirmed by larger series, a longer follow-up (> 5 years) and statistically better analysis.