Microvascular decompression successfully performed in elderly patient with facial spasm

  Mrs. Su is 74 years old and has been suffering from facial muscle spasm for 13 years. At first, she had intermittent twitching in her right eye, which was not taken seriously, but later the condition developed and the right corner of her mouth started to twitch. The old lady was given injections and medicine locally, but she never got well. Today, the facial spasm has seriously affected Su’s life, and she does not like to go out, she is bored at home all day, and is depressed. In order to seek treatment, Mrs. Su’s children brought her to our hospital for surgery. The following is the case of Mrs. Su, which can be used as a reference for patients.  Name: sce Gender: female Age: 74 Main reason: “Paroxysmal involuntary twitching of right facial muscles for 13 years” Condition at admission: The patient had intermittent mild twitching of the right side of the face, mainly of the right lower eyelid, 13 years ago, which was not taken seriously. Since then, the symptoms were more frequent and developed to the right corner of the mouth, with difficulty in opening the right eye and blurred vision during attacks. He came to our hospital for further treatment and was admitted to our clinic with “right-sided facial spasm”. After the disease, he was mentally well and had normal bowel movements.  Preliminary diagnosis: 1. right-sided facial muscle spasm.  Treatment history: After admission, the relevant examination was completed and the right facial nerve microvascular decompression + lumbar pool drainage was performed under general anesthesia. Postoperative treatment was given to prevent infection, hemostasis, nerve nutrition and fluid replacement.  The patient was discharged with clear consciousness, normal spirit, food and sleep, and normal urination and defecation. The symptoms of facial muscle twitching on the right side were significantly reduced. Physical examination: the limbs moved freely and the muscle tone was normal. The wound had all been removed and healed at grade A.  Discharge diagnosis: 1. right-sided facial muscle spasm.  Discharge medical advice: pay attention to rest, strengthen nutrition, appropriate exercise and avoid strain. Continue to take oral methylcobalamin to improve the symptoms. Follow up for discomfort.  Most of the facial muscle spasms are caused by the compression between the facial auditory nerve and the responsible blood vessels. According to this theory, microvascular decompression surgery was carried out, using microsurgical techniques to remove the blood vessels compressing the nerve and place decompression materials between the nerve and the blood vessels to achieve the effect of disappearing facial twitching after surgery.  The advantage of microvascular decompression is that it is minimally invasive, safe, does not cut off the nerve, and can preserve the integrity and physiological function of the trigeminal nerve, and the postoperative efficiency is as high as 96%, so microvascular decompression has become the preferred surgical method for the clinical treatment of facial spasm.