Percutaneous high cervical spinal cord stimulation for refractory trigeminal neuralgia

BACKGROUND: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a debilitating pain that affects the dermatomes associated with the trigeminal nerve (V1, V2, and V3). Unfortunately, many medical treatments and surgical procedures fail to sufficiently modulate the pain associated with this condition. CASE DESCRIPTION: This study presents two extreme cases of refractory TN (RTN) that progressed to atypical facial pain and describes successful mitigation of the neuralgia of said cases by percutaneous implantation of upper cervical spinal cord stimulation (SCS). The SCS was designed to target the descending spinal trigeminal tract. CONCLUSION: Together, these cases collaborate with the limited literature and further delineate the use and potential advantages of SCS in the treatment of RTN.