Trigeminal neuralgia secondary to cerebellopontine angle tumor: A case report and brief overview

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a paroxysmal shock-like pain restricted to innervations of the areas of one or more branches of the trigeminal nerve, often set off by light stimuli in a trigger zone. Pain attacks occur spontaneously and can also be triggered by a nonpainful sensory stimulus to the skin, intraoral mucosa surrounding the teeth, or tongue. The pathogenesis of TN is uncertain and typically is idiopathic, but it may be due to a structural lesion. Some pathologies include traumatic compression of the trigeminal nerve by neoplastic or vascular anomalies and intracranial tumors or demyelinating conditions such as multiple sclerosis. This case report describes an epidermoid cyst at the cerebellopontine angle in a 25-year-old young man with otherwise classical unilateral TN. The case highlights the difficulties of diagnosis and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in making the correct diagnosis in symptomatic as well as classical TN.