Microvascular decompression of trigeminal nerve root for treatment of a patient with hemimasticatory spasm

Hemimasticatory spasm is a rare disease; with little knowledge of the pathogenesis, it has still been intractable today. We presented a 56-year-old woman with involuntary painful spasm in her left masseter muscle for 11 years. The patient was successfully treated with microvascular decompression surgery. An offending superior cerebellar artery was found to contact with the motor branch of the trigeminal nerve root, which was then removed away and pieces of soft wadding were interposed between the nerve and the vessel to assure the separation. Postoperatively, the symptom totally disappeared and no recurrence was observed during the 7 months' follow-up. The treatment as well as the pathogenesis of the disease was reviewed, and we put forward a new hypothesis.