Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2025

Subcutaneous Trigeminal Nerve Field Stimulation for Refractory Facial Pain
Published on: May 10, 2017
Trigeminal interfascicular neurolysis (nerve combing) for refractory recurrent neuralgia in multiple sclerosis
Paolo Ferroli1, Ignazio G Vetrano1, Francesco Acerbi1
1Neurosurgical Unit II, Department of Neurosurgery.
Abstract:
In multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, trigeminal neuralgia (TN) represents a challenging syndrome to treat, often refractory to medical therapy and percutaneous techniques. Despite the frequent lack of a neurovascular conflict, the trigeminal nerve's axons are often damaged, with the myelin sheath permanently degenerated, thus explaining the difficulty in treating TN in MS. The authors illustrate trigeminal interfascicular neurolysis (the combing technique) to control refractory recurrent TN in MS: the nerve is longitudinally divided along its fibers from the root entry zone, determining good pain relief. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/o1XksPW5fMY.

