Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) is universally considered to be the ‘worst known pain to mankind’, nicknamed as “suicide disease”.
Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain. You may initially experience short, mild attacks. But trigeminal neuralgia can progress and cause longer, more-frequent bouts of searing pain.
Trigeminal neuralgia affects women more often than men, and it’s more likely to occur in people who are older than 50.
There are various treatment options available for this condition:
These are used to block nerve firing and are generally effective in treating cases of trigeminal neuralgia type 1 but often less effective in trigeminal neuralgia type 2.
Since trigeminal neuralgia is a progressive disorder that often becomes resistant to medication over time, individuals often seek surgical treatment.
Some procedures are done on an outpatient basis, while others may involve a more complex operation that is performed under general anesthesia.
A rhizotomy (rhizolysis) is a procedure in which nerve fibers are damaged to block pain. A rhizotomy for trigeminal neuralgia always causes some degree of sensory loss and facial numbness.
All forms of rhizolysis are invasive except stereotatic radiosurgery with success rates ranging from 80-90%.
Radiosurgery involves the lesioning (operating on small area of the brain) of the trigeminal neuralgia. It has several advantages:
You do NOT have to live with trigeminal neuralgia pain and you do not have to live a life being heavily drugged.
(Dr. Shankar Vangipuram is the HOD of Radiation Oncology at the HCG-Apex Center in Mumbai.)
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