Familial osteodysplasia associated with trigeminal neuralgia: case report

A 24-year-old woman suffering from left trigeminal neuralgia presented with the familial occurrence of skeletal anomalies simulating Hajdu-Cheney syndrome. She was of a short stature and had low-set ears, protrusion of the bilateral temporal and occipital bones, platybasia, basilar impression, and dental anomaly. Vertebral angiography disclosed marked displacement to the left and dorsally of the basilar artery, which was confirmed during the operation to have compressed the left trigeminal nerve in the cerebellopontine angle narrowed by the unusually protruded bony structure. Cases of Hajdu-Cheney syndrome have occasionally been reported, a few combined with facial spasm, but Hajdu-Cheney syndrome with trigeminal neuralgia is very rare. The patient's family members were surveyed. The possible cause of the neuralgia with its relation to the osteodysplasia is briefly discussed.