[Anesthesia using methohexital for thermocoagulation of the gasserian ganglion (author's transl)]

The authors report their experience of the treatment of essential trigeminal neuralgia by percutaneous thermocoagulation of the Gasserian ganglion (400 patients). This method has always been performed on anesthetized patients, using an ultra short acting barbiturate: methohexital. Most often, two or three successive coagulations are needed to obtain the desired analgesia. No complications have resulted, although 30 p. cent of our patients were over 70 years old.