30 seconds to take you to quickly understand the “world’s first pain” – trigeminal neuralgia

  Trigeminal neuralgia occurs mostly in middle-aged and elderly people, and its attack is characterized by sudden onset of pain, needle-like, knife-like or burning-like pain, starting from one point of the face and radiating to other parts of the face, mostly on one side, rarely on both sides, each pain lasts for a few seconds or 1 to 2 minutes, most of the time it is easy to attack when moving, commonly when chewing, brushing teeth, washing face, talking, sometimes simple In addition, sneezing, crying, tongue movement, head turning, drinking, facial blowing, and touching can trigger painful attacks.  Currently, trigeminal neuralgia can be treated by microvascular decompression, which is the most effective and clinically applicable surgical treatment method. The principle of surgical treatment for trigeminal neuralgia is to separate the compressed nerve vessels under microscopic operation, thus releasing the compression of the nerve root and restoring the normal function of the nerve. Under general anesthesia, a 4-6 cm longitudinal incision is made behind the affected ear and in the hairline, and a cranial hole with a diameter of about 2 cm is opened to enter the pontocerebellar angle under the microscope. Once the responsible vessels are isolated, the source of irritation disappears, and the hyperexcitability of the trigeminal nucleus disappears and returns to normal. In the vast majority of patients, pain disappears immediately after surgery and normal facial sensation and function are preserved without affecting the quality of life. The surgery does not damage the nerves and brain tissue, and the surgery has good results and high safety, which is unanimously recognized by the majority of patients.