Comparison of percutaneous balloon compression and microvascular decompression in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of percutaneous balloon compression (PBC) and microvascular decompression (MVD) in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia (TN). METHODS: Data of 98 patients with TN, admitted to Chenzhou First People’s Hospital from May 2020 to May 2022, were retrospectively collected. Patients were divided into two groups based on the surgical method. A total of 53 patients treated with PBC comprised the PBC-group and 45 patients treated with MVD comprised the MVD-group. The immediate pain relief, long-term efficacy, surgical complications, and masticatory muscle strength of the two groups were compared and analyzed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the immediate pain relief and long-term e efficacy, between the two groups (P>0.05). Complication rate in the PBC-group was significantly lower than that in the MVD-group (3.77% vs 17.78%, P<0.05). Medical records within 14 days after the operation showed that the incidence of facial numbness and masticatory muscle weakness in the PBC-group were 37.74% and 28.30% respectively, significantly higher than those in MVD-group (4.44% and 2.22%) (P<0.05). These symptoms gradually improved three months after the surgery, and were almost completely resolved after six months. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with MVD, PBC has the same effect in the treatment of TN. PBC is a minimally invasive, safe, and effective method with a low complication rate. Although masticatory muscle strength is slightly impacted by PBC, it gradually recovers within six months after the operation.