Turkish Neurosurgery 2021 , Vol 31 , Num 6
Trigeminal Neuralgia Secondary to Compression by a Microsurgical Aneurysm Clip
Kutluay ULUC1,Daniel MUNGER1,Ahmed RASLAN1,Aclan DOGAN1
1Oregon Health & Science University, Department of Neurological Surgery, Portland, OR, USA DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.33334-20.1 Microvascular decompression (MVD) is a common surgical technique used for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) caused by direct vascular compression of the nerve at the brainstem entry zone (BEZ). Here we report a case of a patient (status postcraniotomy for microsurgical clip obliteration of a ruptured mid-basilar artery aneurysm) who developed right-sided TN 6 years after the procedure. During MVD surgery the clip head was found to be compressing the trigeminal nerve at the BEZ, causing Type 1 TN in V3 distribution. This is consistent with the commonly held theory that a pulsatile stimulus is needed to cause TN. To our knowledge there are no previous reports in the literature of an instrument causing TN. Keywords : Trigeminal neuralgia, Microsurgical clip, Microvascular decompression
Corresponding author : Aclan DOGAN, dogana@ohsu.edu