What is trigeminal neuralgia? Trigeminal neuralgia is a paroxysmal electric shock-like severe pain that occurs in the area of the trigeminal nerve distribution and lasts for seconds or minutes. It occurs periodically and can be spontaneous or caused by a point of irritation. The common pain sites of trigeminal neuralgia are mostly in the distribution area of the trigeminal nerve, often confined to one side, more females, family history, combined with hypertension, and occurring as paroxysmal, transient and extremely intense pain, which starts from the point of the plate machine and radiates along the distribution area of a branch of the trigeminal nerve, not exceeding the median line, and may radiate to the occipital or shoulder area. Clinical manifestations and characteristics of trigeminal neuralgia 1. Episodic severe pain: sudden and severe pain attacks with certain triggers, such as talking, yawning, brushing teeth, rinsing mouth, washing face, shaving, chewing, swallowing and other actions, especially when eating too cold or too hot food can be triggered, and excessive fatigue or mental tension can aggravate the attacks. Daytime seizures are more frequent than evening ones. 2, there is a board machine point: that is, the trigger point, slight stimulation of the face or lips, tongue, gums, a point of the nose, can cause a painful outbreak, this point is called the board machine point. 3, short duration: only a few seconds to 1 to 2 minutes each time, the disappearance of pain is also very sudden. 4.Recurrent attacks: often recurring, with frequent attacks reaching hundreds of times, and patients are extremely painful. What is the cause of trigeminal neuralgia? It may be related to vascular compression, nerve ischemia, infection and other factors, or it may be related to tumors in the area. The incidence of trigeminal neuralgia is as high as 182.8/100,000 people, mostly in women, mostly in middle-aged and elderly people, and about 70-80% of people over 40 years old. What are the treatment methods of trigeminal neuralgia? 1.Medication: Carbamazepine has good effect on trigeminal neuralgia, usually starting from small dose, 100mg, 2/d, and then increasing daily until the pain is controlled. 2.Radiofrequency thermal coagulation therapy: Radiofrequency thermal coagulation therapy uses high temperature to coagulate and denature the nerve, thus blocking the nerve impulse and analgesia, with good short-term treatment effect, but more complications and higher recurrence rate. 3.Minimally invasive surgery: It is the most effective and safest method at present, which can be done by locking the eye behind the ear, and the pain disappears after the surgery, and the nerve function is preserved intact. Surgical results The director of our neurosurgery department, Meiqing Lou, has been carrying out trigeminal neuralgia surgery for nearly ten years and has completed more than one hundred cases of microvascular decompression of trigeminal neuralgia with excellent results. The experience of the surgeon and the correct judgment and operation during the surgery have an important influence on the outcome of the surgery. The current cure rate of trigeminal neuralgia in our department is more than 95%. Surgery cost and hospitalization time: The surgery time is about 1 hour, and the patient will be awake after the surgery and can be discharged in 7-10 days. The total cost of surgery is about 20,000 yuan.