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Updated: Jul 3, 2025
Subcutaneous Trigeminal Nerve Field Stimulation for Refractory Facial Pain
Published on: May 10, 2017
Long-Term Patient-Reported Outcomes of Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Trigeminal Neuralgia
Shoji Yomo1, Kyota Oda1, Kazuhiro Oguchi2
1Division of Radiation Oncology, Aizawa Comprehensive Cancer Center, Aizawa Hospital, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
Background:
We aimed to evaluate patient-reported outcomes (PROs) of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for TN in terms of treatment efficacy and toxicity.
Methods:
We retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent Gamma Knife SRS for idiopathic or classic TN between January 2013 and February 2022. Questionnaires regarding pain relief, treatment toxicity, and post-SRS treatment were sent between late 2022 and early 2023, and the responses received were analyzed. The Faces Pain Scale (FPS, 0: best, 5: worst) was used for quantitative evaluation.
Results:
Responses were received from 51 patients (76%). The mean pre-SRS FPS score was 4.1 (standard deviation (SD) 1.1). Forty-three patients (83%) reported initial pain relief and the best post-SRS FPS score was 1.1 (SD 1.5) (P < 0.001). At a median follow-up of 50 months, the FPS score was still 1.1 (SD 1.6) (P < 0.001). Analysis of factors contributing to durable pain relief showed neurovascular compression to be associated with FPS score improvement (Odds ratio 5.7, 95% CI 1.1-29.7, P = 0.038). Facial dysesthesia had a mean pre-SRS FPS score of 1.7 (SD 2.0) and a mean score of 1.4 (SD 1.7) at the last follow-up (P = 0.32). Eight patients (15%) received post-SRS interventions and 21 (40%) no longer required pharmacotherapy without post-SRS intervention. Forty-four patients (85%) reported being satisfied with SRS.
Conclusions:
We analyzed PROs of SRS for TN using the FPS and showed SRS to be a safe and effective treatment modality achieving long lasting pain relief.
