How to cure trigeminal neuralgia?
Now I will explain how to cure trigeminal neuralgia. I am glad that I can help you. Let's begin. How should trigeminal neuralgia be treated? Trigeminal neuralgia is mainly caused by the compression of the trigeminal nerve by the arteries, leading to demyelination of the trigeminal nerve and abnormal discharges, resulting in pain. Currently, the most effective and safest method for treating trigeminal neuralgia is through microvascular decompression surgery.
How to treat trigeminal neuralgia well? Currently, commonly used medications for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia include carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, gabapentin, etc. To some extent, they can reduce the frequency and intensity of trigeminal neuralgia attacks, but long-term use may cause serious side effects such as decreased white blood cell count and liver and kidney damage. In addition, long-term medication may result in the gradual increase of drug dosage, eventually leading to ineffectiveness.
When the effectiveness of medication decreases, microvascular decompression surgery can be considered for treatment. Microvascular decompression surgery for trigeminal neuralgia involves using microsurgical techniques to remove the blood vessels compressing the nerve, and implanting decompression materials between the nerve and blood vessels to achieve the disappearance of facial pain after surgery. Microvascular decompression surgery does not sever the cranial nerve, preserving the integrity and physiological function of the trigeminal nerve, and preserving facial sensation after surgery. Due to the minimal complications and good safety profile of microvascular decompression surgery for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, as well as its ability to protect nerve function, it has become the preferred method for clinical cure.
How to treat trigeminal neuralgia and what are the methods? 1. Medication treatment: Medications such as Carbamazepine and Oxcarbazepine can reduce nerve excitability. 2. Nerve blockade: Suitable for localized trigeminal neuralgia or trigeminal neuralgia caused by acute inflammation. 3. Surgical treatment: Secondary trigeminal neuralgia caused by tumors can be treated by surgically removing the tumor to relieve pain.
4. Radiofrequency treatment: It has a certain therapeutic effect, but also has significant side effects. 5. Microvascular decompression surgery. Specific medication should be combined with clinical practice, and should be guided by a doctor's consultation. What are the treatment methods for trigeminal neuralgia?
The treatment for trigeminal neuralgia first requires the use of medication. In some cases, symptoms may improve with medication alone. However, for patients who do not respond to medication, radiofrequency thermocoagulation or surgical treatment may be necessary. Additionally, if the trigeminal neuralgia is caused by underlying conditions such as arterial sclerosis, doctors may treat the underlying condition to help alleviate the symptoms.
Medication treatment: Medication treatment is the preferred initial treatment and is suitable for elderly patients in the early stages of the disease or those with severe complications. 1. Carbamazepine: It is the first-choice medication for treatment. The dosage can be increased daily until the pain stops, and then gradually reduced to determine the minimum effective dose for maintenance. If adverse reactions such as dizziness, unsteady gait, or decreased white blood cells occur, the medication should be stopped. It should not be used in pregnant women.
2. Phenytoin sodium: If it is ineffective, the dosage can be increased according to the doctor's instructions. If symptoms of toxicity occur (such as dizziness, unsteady gait, or nystagmus), the dosage should be immediately reduced until the toxic reaction disappears. If it continues to be effective, it can be used as a maintenance dose. After the pain disappears, the dosage can be gradually reduced.
3. Gabapentin: It can be used alone or in combination with other medications and has good efficacy. Common adverse reactions include dizziness and drowsiness, which can be gradually tolerated. 4. Pregabalin: If the pain does not improve after 2 weeks, the dosage can be increased according to the doctor's instructions. The medication should be gradually reduced when stopping. It should be used with caution in patients with renal dysfunction.
5. Clonazepam: Pay attention to side effects such as drowsiness and unsteady gait, especially in elderly patients, who may occasionally experience transient mental abnormalities, which can be relieved after discontinuation. 6. Others: If carbamazepine and phenytoin sodium are ineffective, baclofen or amitriptyline can be chosen to improve efficacy.
Surgical treatment: Surgical treatment is suitable for patients who do not respond to medication and nerve block treatment. Currently, there are several surgical treatment methods: 1. Microvascular decompression surgery: This method has good efficacy but requires craniotomy and is suitable for trigeminal neuralgia caused by vascular compression.
2. Extracranial trigeminal nerve peripheral division surgery: The efficacy is temporary and is currently not recommended. 3. Sensory root division of the semilunar ganglion: The efficacy for pain treatment is confirmed, but there are serious complications such as severe local numbness, and it is rarely used at present.
4. Trigeminal spinal tractotomy surgery: The surgery is difficult. Physical therapy: Radiofrequency thermocoagulation treatment: It is suitable for primary trigeminal neuralgia patients who are not suitable for surgery due to long-term ineffective medication or inability to tolerate medication doses due to old age and physical weakness. It selectively destroys the pain fibers of the trigeminal nerve or the semilunar ganglion, without damaging the sensory fibers, achieving both pain relief and thermal coagulation. Radiofrequency energy can be converted into heat energy through electromagnetic waves in the body, producing thermal effects and thermal coagulation. Its efficacy and adverse reactions are similar to semilunar ganglion block.
Treatment period: The treatment period is generally influenced by factors such as the severity of the condition, treatment plan, timing of treatment, age, and physical condition, and may vary among individuals. Treatment cost: The treatment cost can vary significantly among individuals and is specific to the chosen hospital, treatment plan, and medical insurance policies.
How to treat trigeminal neuralgia? There are many treatment methods for trigeminal neuralgia, and currently, the recognized effective treatments are trigeminal ganglion radiofrequency thermocoagulation and microvascular decompression. Both methods have similar effectiveness, but microvascular decompression is a craniotomy surgery that requires higher patient physical condition and has greater surgical risks, with reported cases of death. Trigeminal ganglion radiofrequency thermocoagulation, on the other hand, is a minimally invasive puncture treatment with minimal damage to the patient and high safety.
The process of trigeminal ganglion radiofrequency thermocoagulation: 1. Select the puncture point, usually located 1-2cm beside the corner of the mouth. Disinfect and drape. 2. Local anesthesia to alleviate the pain caused by the puncture process. 3. Puncture under CT guidance until reaching the trigeminal ganglion halfway through the oval foramen.
4. Testing, since single branch pain is the most common in trigeminal neuralgia, after the puncture needle enters the oval foramen, sensory and motor tests are still needed to further determine the needle tip position, fine-tuning it to the root of the branch causing the pain. 5. High-temperature radiofrequency thermocoagulation to damage the nerve. The trigeminal nerve is mainly responsible for facial sensory function, but it also has some nerve fibers for motor function. How can we achieve destruction of only the pain-conducting sensory fibers without harming the motor fibers? It turns out that these two types of nerve fibers have different denaturation temperatures. Sensory fibers are more sensitive and can undergo denaturation at temperatures above 65°C, while sensory fibers and the thicker fibers that transmit touch are relatively dull and only undergo denaturation at temperatures above 80°C. This gives us a safe temperature range for trigeminal ganglion radiofrequency thermocoagulation treatment, with a commonly used temperature in clinical practice of 70-75°C.
6. Injection of amphotericin B. 7. Precise surgery, disappearance of pain, patient satisfaction, and return to the ward. Possible complications that may occur: 1. Facial numbness, which has a relatively high occurrence rate. Due to the damage to the sensory fibers, there may be a numb sensation in the previously painful area for a period of time. However, for most people, this sensation will disappear or alleviate within 2-3 months and rarely affects daily life.
2. Weakness of the chewing muscle. If the third branch radiofrequency thermocoagulation is performed without controlling the temperature and time properly, it may cause partial damage to the motor nerve fibers, leading to the manifestation of weakened chewing muscles. In most cases, it can recover on its own.
3. Decreased corneal sensation, which occurs after the first branch radiofrequency thermocoagulation. Since the trigeminal nerve's first branch has fibers distributed to the cornea, improper operation can easily lead to adverse reactions such as decreased corneal sensation. In such cases, patients must ensure regular use of eye drops, wear glasses when going out, and avoid entering small particles or other pollutants into the eye, causing corneal ulcers.
4. Intracranial infection, bleeding, etc., these complications have a low occurrence rate. How to treat trigeminal neuralgia? Most cases of trigeminal neuralgia can be cured, but there are a few stubborn cases that are more difficult to treat, which may affect the effectiveness of the treatment. The treatment of trigeminal neuralgia requires attention to cranial lesions, usually caused by tumors or cholesterol granulomas and other intracranial space-occupying lesions leading to secondary trigeminal neuralgia. Due to the difficulty of treatment, there are certain differences in the curative effect.
Primary trigeminal neuralgia, due to unclear causes, usually uses treatments such as radiofrequency of the trigeminal ganglion, gamma knife treatment, and oval foramen balloon compression. These three treatment methods may have certain side effects after surgery, so patients need to choose according to their own conditions. Gamma knife treatment has relatively fewer side effects and less pain for patients, but the recurrence rate is higher.
Microvascular decompression surgery is limited by patient age and physical condition, so it is usually restricted for elderly people to choose microvascular decompression. Radiofrequency of the trigeminal ganglion surgery may result in varying degrees of facial numbness, but the risk is small and the trauma is relatively small, achieving relatively thorough treatment.
First, trigeminal neuralgia can be completely cured. The preferred treatment method for trigeminal neuralgia is usually medication, as patients generally choose conservative treatment methods considering the condition of the disease. Acupuncture in traditional Chinese medicine can also achieve good treatment effects during the process of medication therapy.
If acupuncture is unable to achieve the desired treatment effect, microvascular decompression surgery of the trigeminal nerve can be performed. Microvascular decompression surgery is currently the most effective treatment, and it can achieve complete recovery for patients, so surgery is recommended in such cases.
How to cure trigeminal neuralgia is introduced here. Thank you for taking the time to read the content of this website. Don't forget to search for more information about how to treat trigeminal neuralgia on this site.
Leave a Reply