[A case of hysterical conversion manifested by pain in face and head]

We report a case of hysterical conversion, which was initially diagnosed as trigeminal neuralgia. The pain in the face and head which the patient complained seemed to be consistent with symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia. But it could not be relieved by repeated peripheral nerve blocks and even by Gasserian blocks. Failure to relieve pain by such blocks and concomitant hemifacial spasm with closure of the eye appeared to afford indication of microvascular decompression surgery. Injection of edrophonium before operation, for the purpose of differential diagnosis of myasthenic ptosis, made the patient free from all symptoms, i.e. facial pain, spasm, and ptosis. The diagnosis of hysterical conversion was made on this irrational episode. When we looked back the total clinical course, it was revealed that the patient's complaints and symptoms had been rather atypical, too various, and not anatomical. We also confirmed that various other episodes of this patient which had not received our attention during treatment were psychological features of hysteria, but we could not make his psychological stress clear, which had been in the background of hysterical conversion.