Talk about the cure for trigeminal neuralgia – minimally invasive + precise decompression Most people have experienced toothache, which is usually cured in a short time after treatment such as anti-inflammation and tooth extraction. If it is a sudden onset of severe pain in one side of the mouth, teeth, jaw, head and face, with recurrent attacks for more than 3 months, beware of suffering from trigeminal neuralgia. Characteristics of toothache. Most of the toothache is caused by periodontal inflammation, with redness, swelling and heat around the gums at the onset, persistent swelling and pain, teeth are sensitive to hot and cold, which can be triggered by stimulation, and oral examination shows red and swollen gums, restricted mouth opening and percussion pain, and the pain disappears after dental treatment. Trigeminal neuralgia, known as the “No. 1 pain in the world”, is common in middle-aged and elderly people, and refers to the pain that occurs around one side of the head, face, paranasal, jaw and dental bed. Typical trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by paroxysmal, short-lived pain attacks, each lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes, with severe pain. The pain mostly occurs unilaterally and usually does not spread to the midline. There are often trigger points (trigger points) along the trigeminal nerve distribution area, such as the upper and lower lips, corners of the mouth, teeth, tongue, and cheeks, which can be triggered when washing the face, brushing the teeth, drinking, talking, and shaving, seriously affecting the patient’s daily life. The pathogenesis of trigeminal neuralgia. It is widely believed that the cause of trigeminal neuralgia is due to the long-term compression of the trigeminal nerve by blood vessels in the brain, resulting in demyelination of the trigeminal nerve and abnormal conduction of the nerve fibers inside the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve is a nerve fiber that transmits sensation to the face, just like a thick electric wire. Due to the vascular compression, the outer skin of the wire is worn down and the inner wire is exposed, resulting in a short circuit and sparking of the wire, therefore, trigeminal neuralgia is mostly manifested as transient electric shock, knife cut, needle prick and burning-like pain. There is a cure for trigeminal neuralgia. The pain is torturous, the disease is urgent, some when toothache extraction, and others choose acupuncture and massage, due to the poor results lead to patients lose confidence in the treatment. To completely cure trigeminal neuralgia, the distorted blood vessels must be relieved of their compression on the nerve from the etiology. Therefore, identifying the responsible vessels under the microscope and decompressing them precisely is the guarantee of surgical efficacy, while minimally invasive operation reduces or even avoids complications to the patient. The neurosurgery department of Tongren Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine uses microvascular decompression (minimally invasive) to treat trigeminal neuralgia. Under the microscope, the responsible blood vessel compressing the nerve is removed, and then the damaged nerve is wrapped with a medical spacer, isolating the nerve from the blood vessel, and the patient’s pain symptoms disappear immediately after the surgery. The operation is short (about 1 hour), with little damage to the patient’s nerves and blood vessels and few post-operative complications.