Peripheral Neurectomy for Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Report of Seventeen Cases and Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND: Surgical intervention for trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is indicated if there is a failure of the medical treatment. Peripheral neurectomy is one of the oldest surgical procedures for TN. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to evaluate the clinical outcome and the recurrence rate following peripheral neurectomy for the management of TN. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of 17 patients with classical TN treated by peripheral neurectomy. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used for pain assessment preoperatively and during the follow-up period. The outcome of surgery was graded as a marked, moderate, or mild improvement. Kaplan–Meier analysis was used for the time to recurrence to predict the probability of recurrence at any given time following the procedure. RESULTS: The mean pain-free interval was 29.3 ± 16.3 months. At 2 and 5 years of the follow-up period, the mean VAS improved significantly (P < 0.001 and P = 0.042 respectively). Thirteen patients had marked improvement of pain. There was recurrence of pain in 4 patients (23.5%). By Kaplan–Meier analysis, the survival rate without recurrence at 2, 3, 4, and 5 years following the procedure were 92.9%, 79.6%, 59.7%, and 29.8%, respectively. The mean preoperative Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety and Depression scores significantly improved on the last follow-up visit following the procedure (P < 0.001 for both). CONCLUSION: Peripheral neurectomy provides short to medium-term good pain control for patients with TN. The preoperative severity of pain, anxiety, and depression levels improved markedly after the procedure.