Is trigeminal neuralgia and glossopharyngeal neuralgia treated surgically?

  The trigeminal nerve is one of the main brain nerves that innervates the sensory and motor functions of the face. Trigeminal neuralgia is a painful paroxysmal electric shock-like or knife-like pain on one side of the face, lasting from a few seconds to several minutes at a time, but usually asymptomatic. It is mostly seen in middle-aged and elderly people. There are many treatment methods for this disease, such as oral carbamazepine tablets, closure, radiofrequency, etc., but the effect is general and easy to recur, and it is difficult to cure. In our department, we apply the most common international microvascular decompression to treat trigeminal neuralgia, and the efficacy is about 90%, and there are few recurrences.  Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is a painful paroxysmal cutting, burning and tearing pain in the pharynx, tongue root and tonsil area on one side. It can be triggered by stimulation such as swallowing, speaking, coughing and yawning. The pain occurs suddenly and usually lasts from a few seconds to a few minutes, with several to dozens of episodes per day, especially in times of anxiety and stress. There is often an interval of varying duration, during which the patient is as normal. The disease is similar to trigeminal neuralgia, but the patient is often unable to eat or speak, which causes great inconvenience to life and often affects the patient’s work, social life and daily life. Microvascular decompression can be performed if conservative treatment is not effective.