[Neurovascular decompression in trigeminal neuralgia. Analysis of 70 cases]

This paper analyses the surgical findings and results obtained with the neurovascular decompression technique in the treatment of 70 patients with essential trigeminal neuralgia. Except for 3 patients in whom nothing was found, vessels were seen touching or compressing the nerve root in all the other patients, being the arteries responsible for the pain in 73% of the cases. The surgical results improved with the increased familiarity of the technique, being of 73% the excellent results obtained in the first group of 23 patients, and 95% in the remaining two groups. Only 3 patients were lost in the follow-up which ranged from 2 months to 4 years. Recurrences occurred in 4 patients. There were no important complications except for a death from a post-operative gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Our results and those published in the literature confirm that neurovascular decompression is a safe procedure in experienced hands, and that it should be the chosen method in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in order to preserve the sensibility of the face.