Radiosurgery for the management of refractory trigeminal neuralgia

Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a minimally invasive surgical approach for managing medically refractory trigeminal neuralgia (TN). The goal of trigeminal neuralgia SRS is to eliminate or reduce the facial pain in order to improve the quality of life. Over the past 28 years, 1250 patients have undergone gamma knife SRS for TN at our institution. In our retrospective review of 503 patients who underwent SRS for management of refractory TN, 449 patients (89%) experienced initial pain relief at a median latency of 1 month. At the one year mark, 73% patients were pain free (with or without medications) and 80% had pain control. Repeat radiosurgery was performed for 193 patients (43%). At the one year mark, 26% of these patients were completely pain free and 78% were pain free with or without medications. The role of gamma Knife SRS in the management of medically refractory trigeminal neuralgia has evolved over the past two decades. SRS is a minimally invasive procedure and is associated with 60-90% rate of pain relief in patents with medical refractory trigeminal neuralgia. Early intervention with SRS as the initial surgical procedure for management of refractory trigeminal neuralgia is associated with faster, better, and longer pain relief. As SRS is the least invasive procedure for TN, it is a good treatment option for patients with other high-risk medical conditions. SRS is an attractive alternative especially to those who do not want to accept the greater risk associated with other surgical procedures.