Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment of the Supraorbital and Supratrochlear Nerve in a Case of Trigeminal Neuralgia: A case report.
10.3344/kjp.2009.22.2.167
- Author:
Kwi Chu SEO
1
;
Heung Dong SHIN
;
Jong Hae KIM
;
Seok Young SONG
;
Woon Seok RHO
;
Jin Yong CHUNG
Author Information
1. Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Daegu, Korea. jychung@cu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords:
pulsed radiofrequency;
supraorbital nerve;
supratrochlear nerve;
trigeminal neuralgia
- MeSH:
Anesthesia;
Head;
Humans;
Hypesthesia;
Peripheral Nerves;
Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment;
Reflex;
Trigeminal Ganglion;
Trigeminal Neuralgia
- From:The Korean Journal of Pain
2009;22(2):167-170
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Pharmacological management is the first choice for treatment of the trigeminal neuralgia patients; however, if this mode of treatment fails a minimally invasive procedure should be performed. One of the most commonly used procedures is conventional radiofrequency lesioning of the Gasserian ganglion. Despite its popularity and success rate, this technique has disadvantages such as diminished corneal reflex, masseter weakness, numbness and anesthesia dolorosa. As a result, many studies have been conducted in an attempt to find a better method of treating trigeminal neuralgia. We report here a case of a trigeminal neuralgia patient that was treated with pulsed radiofrequency lesioning of the supraorbital and supratrochlear nerve due to pain in the frontal head that was refractory to the pharmacological treatments. Following the procedure, the Visual Analogue Scale score for pain decreased to 1-2/10 and the pain relief persisted for 7 months. These results indicate that pulsed radiofrequency treatment of the peripheral nerve may be useful for trigeminal neuralgia patients that do not respond to pharmacological treatments.
