Chronic traumatic trigeminal neuralgia

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Pain Medicine

Background:

• Current terminology for facial pain and headache lacks clarity.
• Terms like 'atypical facial pain' and 'lower-half headache' are ambiguous and should be retired.

Observation:

• Recurrent, unilateral, throbbing, frontal headaches are clinically distinct.
• Patients with a history of multiple trigeminal nerve surgeries experiencing persistent, unilateral face-jaw pain present a specific clinical picture.

Findings:

• The condition of recurrent unilateral, throbbing, frontal headaches should be consistently termed 'facial migraine'.
• Persistent unilateral face-jaw pain following repeated trigeminal branch surgeries should be classified as 'chronic traumatic trigeminal neuralgia'.

Implications:

• Adopting standardized terminology improves diagnostic accuracy for facial pain and headache disorders.
• Effective treatment for chronic traumatic trigeminal neuralgia is contingent upon cessation of further surgical interventions.