A 10-YEAR FOLLOW-UP REVIEW OF PERCUTANEOUS MICROCOMPRESSION OF THE TRIGEMINAL GANGLION

Percutaneous microcompression of the trigeminal ganglion for the relief of trigeminal neuralgia is a technically simple, nonpainful procedure, carried out under brief general anesthesia. One hundred patients treated by this method have been followed for 1 to 10 years; treatment has been technically successful in 97% of cases. Relief persisted at five years in 80%, and it is estimated that at 10 years the figure will be 70%. There were no deaths, no cerebral damage, no keratitis, and no analgesia dolorosa; 4% of the patients reported dysesthesia.