What is the use of radiofrequency thermal coagulation of the trigeminal hemimelia?

  Trigeminal neuralgia is a disease with recurrent episodes of severe pain in the distribution of the trigeminal nerve, the cause of which is unknown and can also be secondary to other diseases. It is a common painful disease that seriously affects the quality of life of patients. The diagnosis of the disease is easy, but the treatment is difficult.  Currently, the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia starts with symptomatic treatment with painkillers such as carbamazepine, which is less and less effective due to the need for long-term medication and the need to increase the dosage of medication as the disease progresses. The effect is getting worse and worse, and anemia, liver and kidney function damage and toxic side effects of the digestive system gradually appear. Secondly, the use of alcohol local injection and other methods, because the efficacy is not very reliable, and easy to damage the peripheral nerves and other tissues, recently also less used. Therefore, radiofrequency thermal coagulation of the semilunar ganglion has become an important treatment method for trigeminal neuralgia.  Radiofrequency thermal coagulation of the trigeminal nerve hemimelia is a minimally invasive interventional treatment. It consists of pulsed radiofrequency treatment of the trigeminal meningeal ganglion and temperature-controlled coagulation techniques.  The procedure uses CT or “C” arm imaging to guide positioning, and applies intermittent pulsed current sensory stimulation and motor stimulation to test whether the stimulation area matches the patient’s painful area, making the treatment more delicate and safe. Since the unmyelinated fine fibers that conduct nociceptive sensations degenerate at 70°-75°C, while the coarse fibers that conduct tactile sensations can tolerate higher temperatures, temperature-controlled thermocoagulation is used to control the destruction temperature at 75°C. In this way, the differences in temperature tolerance of different nerve fibers can be exploited to selectively destroy the fine fibers that conduct facial nociceptive sensations in the semilunar ganglion, while preserving the coarse fibers that conduct tactile sensations that are more resistant to heat. The pain relief is immediate and the facial pain is preserved. The aim is to achieve immediate pain relief while preserving facial sensation.  ”Radiofrequency thermal coagulation of the semilunar ganglion is suitable for: 1. primary trigeminal neuralgia with unsatisfactory effect of medication; 2. patients with obvious adverse drug reactions to carbamazepine and other analgesics; 3. patients with trigeminal neuralgia who are too old and weak to tolerate craniotomy; 4. patients who are unwilling to undergo craniotomy for trigeminal neurovascular decompression; 5. patients who are unwilling to undergo craniotomy for trigeminal neurovascular decompression. patients with recurrence after trigeminal neurovascular decompression; 6, patients with recurrence after controlled radiofrequency thermocoagulation treatment, who can be treated with coagulation again; 7, patients whose pain is not eliminated or reduced due to unsatisfactory effect of gamma knife treatment; 8, patients with trigeminal neuralgia due to tumor, whose pain is not improved by gamma knife or surgical treatment.  The use of CT and “C” arm image guidance ensures accurate puncture of the foramen ovale and trigeminal nerve hemimelia, which significantly improves the treatment effect. After the puncture is in place, the trigeminal meniscus can be stimulated with a weak current to verify that the proposed target area matches the patient’s pain area, making the treatment more delicate and safe. Temperature-controlled thermal coagulation is to gradually warm up the target area of destruction, using the different heat tolerance of nociceptive and tactile nerve fibers to selectively destroy nociceptive nerve fibers, the treatment process is accurately adjustable and controlled, avoiding the blindness of anhydrous alcohol or glycerin injection and eliminating the paid injury of injecting irritating drugs.  ”Radiofrequency thermal coagulation of the meningeal ganglion” is safer and more effective than other treatments. The procedure takes 30-60 minutes, and the pain is relieved instantly during the procedure. The patient receives the temperature-controlled treatment plan in the awake state (also in the brief anesthesia state), and the effect is immediate. It has a low recurrence rate and low cost, and is gladly accepted by the majority of patients.