Percutaneous glossopharyngeal thermocoagulation complicated by syncope and seizures

We describe the case of a patient who, during the percutaneous thermocoagulation of the petrous ganglion of Andersch, suffered a serious vagal response resulting in cardiac arrest, collapse, and generalized convulsions. Notwithstanding such major symptoms, the postoperative examination revealed no lesions of the vagus nerve and the glossopharyngeal lesion was shown to be isolated and selective.