• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.235-240
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• 2000

This study was carried out among 34 patients who visited Yonsei Dental Hospital from 1996. 1. to 1999. 5 for trigeminal neuralgia. By studying the patient's treatment prior to visiting our hospital, features of trigeminal neuralgia, treatment process of trigeminal neuralgia, prognosis of treatment, consultation with other professions and involvement of surgery, etc., the results are as follows: 1. 67.7% of onset age range from 40s to 60s, and average age is 50.2. 2. Ratio of right to left involvement is 1:2.1, male to female ratio is 1:1.9. 3. Occurrence rate of each branch is V3(44.1%), V2(11.8%), V1+V2+V3(11.8), V1+V2(8.8%). 4. Treatments prior to admission to our hospital are extraction(5.9%), endodontic treatment(5.9%), medication(11.8%), Oriental Medicine treatment(5.9%). 5. Routes of admittance to our hospital are by their preference(55.9%), local clinic referral(32.4%), E.N.T referral(5.9%), Neurology referral(5.9%). 6. 70.6% of patients treated at our hospital who were relieved of symptoms, were referred to Neurology(66.7%) and Pain Clinic(33.3%) for the reason of relapse, side effects of the drug itself, incomplete relief of pain. 7. 2 patients who were referred to medical part showed brain vessels contacting trigeminal nerve root on Brain MRangiography. But pain is being controlled by medication and no specific surgical procedure was carried out. The results show that 17.7% of patients admitted received inappropriate early treatment. In order to relieve tooth loss and patient's psychologic stress due to inappropriate treatment, precise differential diagnosis must be made among local teeth disease and idiopathic facial pain. Medication may show side effects of the drug itself, incomplete relief of pain or relapse of symptoms. Therefore, to treat trigeminal neuralgia appropriately by drug injection, surgery or radiation therapy, consultations among dentists, neurologists and anesthesiologists are required.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.174-180
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• 2007

Background: The diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is based on only clinical criteria. The purpose of this study was to estimate the clinical manifestations of TN patients treated at our pain clinic. Methods: A total of 341 patients with TN from Jan. 2004 to Dec. 2006 was evaluated the intensity, site, and onset of pain, facial sensation, duration of pain attack, pain free interval, triggering factors, and effects of the previous treatments with TN specific questionnaire and interview at the first visit of our pain clinic. Results: About 80% of the patients were over 50 years of age and 256 (75%) patients were women. Average durations from first attack of their pain and from current pain attack were 7 years and 16 weeks, respectively. The two most frequently involved trigeminal nerve branches were maxillary (40%) and mandibular (39%) branches. Three quarters of the total patients experienced only paroxysmal pain that lasted less than one minute. About 90% of patients had pain free period at least one time. Most common triggering factors were chewing (88%), brushing teeth (82%), washing face (79%), and talking (70%). Only 16 patients (5%) had no previous treatment and the others had more than one treatment, such as medication (68%) and interventional procedures (35%). The most common reasons for early discontinuation of carbamazepine were dizziness, ataxia, and vomiting. Conclusions: TN has specific clinical features of pain, which should be considered at diagnosis.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.144-148
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• 2006

Trigeminal neuralgia is defined as an episodic electrical shock-like sensation in a dermatomal distribution of the trigeminal nerve. When medications fail to control pain, various procedures are used to attempt to control refractory pain. Of available procedures, stereotactic radiosurgery is the least invasive procedure and has been demonstrated to produce significant pain relief with minimal side effects. Recently, linear accelerators were introduced as a tool for radiosurgery of trigeminal neuralgia beneath the already accepted gamma unit. Author have experienced one case with trigeminal neuralgia treated with linear accelerator. The patient was treated with 85 Gy by means of 5 mm collimator directed to trigeminal nerve root entry zone. The patient obtained pain free without medication at 20 days after the procedure and remain pain free at 6 months after the procedure. He didn't experience facial numbness or other side effects.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.188-190
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• 1999

Background: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of gabapentin on postherpetic neuralgia. Gabapentin is a known anti-seizure medication, whose cellular mechanism of action is not well understood. Unlike other anticonvulsant, gabapentin has the advantage of a low toxicity and favorable side effect profile. If has been recently recommended for use in treatment of neuropathic pain. Methods: Twelve patients with a diagnosis of postherpetic neuralgia were prescribed gabapentin after failure of routine therapeutic regimens. The dose of gabapentin ranged 300~1800 mg per day, in three divided doses. If initial dose was ineffective and no side effects were noted, the dosages was increased by 300 mg a day in divided doses, to the maximum level for 2 weeks. Patients were evaluated for analgesia using visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score (0; no pain, 10; worst possible pain) and possible side effects. Results: A significant decrease in pain scores with gabapentin were noted. There were several mild side effects such as dizziness, somnolence, dry mouth, constipation and facial edema, without need of special treatment. Conclusions: Gabapentin may be a useful adjunct for treating intractable postherpetic neuralgia with a minimal side effects.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.260-265
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• 2014

Background: To evaluate the results of conventional radiofrequency thermorhizotomy (CRT) for trigeminal neuralgia (TN) in patients with failed medical management. Methods: Patients with Trigeminal neuralgia who were referred to us for 'limited intervention' during the time frame July-2011 to Jan-2013 were enrolled for this study. CRT was administered by the Sweet technique. Pain relief was evaluated by the principle investigator. Results: Eighteen patients were enrolled and completed a mean follow-up of 18.0 months. Pain relief was observed in 14 of 18 (77.8%) patients on the post-operative day, 14 of 18 (77.8%) at 1-month follow-up, 14 of 17 (82.4%) at 3-months follow-up, 12 of 15 (80%) at 6-months follow-up, 7 of 11 (63.6%) at 1-year follow-up and 2 of 6 (33.3%) 1.5 years of follow-up. Four patients required a repeat cycle of CRT; two at six months of follow-up and two at one year of follow-up. One patient was transferred for surgical intervention at six months of follow-up. Side-effects included facial hypoesthesia (n = 6); nausea/vomiting (n = 2), diminished corneal reflex (n = 13) and difficulty in chewing (n = 11). Severity of adverse effects gradually diminished and none of the patients who are beyond 6 months of follow-up have any functional limitation. Conclusions: CRT is an effective method of pain relief for patients with Trigeminal neuralgia. Successful outcome (excellent or good) can be expected in 66.7% of patients after first cycle of CRF. The incidence and severity of adverse effects is less and the procedure is better tolerated by the patients.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.423-425
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• 1996

Tic convulsif is a syndrome restricted to paroxysmal dysfunction of the fifth and seventh cranial nerves. It occurs predominantly in women over the age of 50 years and is usually associated with an ectatic vertebrobasilar artery - less frequently an arteriovenous malformation or cholesteatoma - which compresses the trigeminal and facial nerve roots in the postetior fossa. In rare instances this syndrome may be caused by brain tumor. Because of the high incidence of posterior fossa lesions in painful tic convulsif, a complete neurological evaluation including computerised transaxial tomography should be performed in every case. We experienced a case of trigeminal neuralgia(mandibular division)and contralateral hemifacial spasm.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.332-338
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• 2021

Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is one of the most painful disorder in the orofacial region, and many patients have suffered from this disease. For the effective management of TN, fundamental epidemiologic data related to the target population group are essential. Thus, this study was performed to clarify the epidemiological characteristics of TN in the Korean population. This is the first national study to investigate the prevalence of TN in Korean patients. Methods: From 2014 to 2018, population-based medical data for 51,276,314 subscribers to the National Health Insurance Service of Korea were used for this study. Results: The incidence of TN was 100.21 per 100,000 person-years in the year of 2018 in Korea, and the male to female ratio was 1:2.14. The age group of 51-59 years had the highest prevalence of TN. Constant increases in medical cost, regional imbalance, and differences in prescription patterns by the medical specialties were showed in the management of TN. Conclusions: The results in this study will not only help to study the characteristics of TN, but also serve as an important basis for the effective management of TN in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.227-230
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• 1999

The sphenopalatine ganglion lies behind the middle nasal concha in the sphenopalatine foramen which connects the fossa to the nasal cavity. It has sympathetic and parasympathetic fibers as well as sensory fibers which innervate the nasal cavity, palate and nasopharynx. Current indications for blockade of the sphenopalatine ganglion include the management of migraine, cluster headache and a variety of facial neuralgias. Blockage of this ganglion can be attempted when more conservative treatments have failed. If the pain relief gained through the procedure is of short duration and the blockage needs to be repeated frequently, then radiofrequency thermocoagulation should be considered. Since the sphenopalatine ganglion lies close to the maxillary nerve, neurolytics can cause facial dysesthesia, radiofrequency thermocoagulation is the preferred method for ganglionotomy. Radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the sphenopalatine ganglion was done for 3 patients who suffered from postherpetic neuralgia, cluster headache, atypical facial pain respectively. Good results were obtained with the exception of the patient suffering from atypical facial pain. Although we were concerned about complications such as epistaxis, none were encountered. However it should be noted that caution must be exercised when repeatedly redirecting the cannula in the sphenopalatine fossa as serious bleeding and pronounced facial swelling may result.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.202-205
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• 2005

Objective : The purpose of this study is to measure the dimensions of foramen ovale and to localize the zygomatic point using computed tomography[CT] in Korean adults with idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia. Methods : Facial axial CT scans using the orbitomeatal plane were performed in 67patients [39males and 28females; mean age 58.8years] with idiopathic classic trigeminal neuralgia. We measured the size of the foramen ovale and localized the zygomatic point which was a skin marker over the ipsilateral zygoma that approximates the lateral projection of a straight line joining the centers of the two foramen ovale. Results : The axial dimensions of the foramen ovale on the orbitomeatal plane were of average length : $8.18{\pm}0.82mm$ [range $6.9{\sim}11.5mm$]. width : $4.06{\pm}0.86mm$ [$2.5{\sim}5.7mm$]. The average distance between the external acoustic meatus and the zygomatic point was $21.64{\pm}1.99mm$ [$16.3{\sim}25.0mm$] and the average distance of anterior margin of condylar process of mandible to zygomatic point was $4.29{\pm}1.19mm$ [$1.0{\sim}7.0mm$]. Conclusion : The anatomical understandings including the size of the foramen ovale and localization of the zygomatic point could be helpful in determining a plan of percutaneous approaches to foramen ovale.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.966-974
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• 2021

Objective : To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of microvascular decompression (MVD) combined with internal neurolysis (IN) in the treatment of recurrent trigeminal neuralgia (TN) after MVD. Methods : Sixty-four patients with recurrent TN admitted to the hospital from January 2014 to December 2017 were divided into two groups according to the surgical method. Twenty-nine patients, admitted from January 2014 to December 2015, were treated with MVD alone, whereas 35 admitted from January 2016 to December 2017 were treated with MVD+IN. The postoperative efficacy, complications, and pain recurrence rate of the two groups were analyzed. Results : The efficacy of the MVD+IN and MVD groups were 88.6% and 86.2%, and the cure rates were 77.1% and 65.5% respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05). The cure rate (83.3%) of patients in the MVD+IN group, who were only found thickened arachnoid adhesions during the operation that could not be fully released, was significantly higher than that of the MVD group (30.0%) (p<0.05), while the efficacy (91.7% vs. 70%) of the two groups was not statistically different (p>0.05). For patients whose arachnoid adhesions were completely released, there had no significant difference (p>0.05) in the efficacy (87% vs. 94.7%) and recurrence rate (5.0% vs. 11.1%). The incidence of postoperative facial numbness (88.6%) in the MVD+IN group was higher than that in the MVD group (10.3%) (p<0.01). The long-term incidence of facial numbness was not statistically significant (p>0.05). In the 18-36 months follow-up, the recurrence rate of patients in the MVD+IN group (9.7%) and in the MVD group (16%) were not statistically different (p>0.05). Conclusion : A retrospective comparison of patients with recurrent TN showed that both MVD and MVD combined with IN can effectively treat recurrent TN. Compared with MVD alone, MVD combined with IN can effectively improve the pain cure rate of patients with recurrent TN who have only severe arachnoid adhesions. The combination does not increase the incidence of long-term facial numbness and other complications.