engleski

Gamma Knife Surgery for Trigeminal Neuralgia

Aim of the study: The purpose of this study was to assess the degree of pain relief in patients treated using stereotactic gamma knife surgery (GKS) for trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Methods: Thirty patients with refractory TN were treated with stereotactic GKS between May 2004 and January 2005. All patients received a prescription radiation dose of 60-90 Gy to 100% isodose through a 4-mm collimator helmet. The group was assessed for a median follow up of 9 months (range 5– 15 months). Pain relief was classified as excellent (no pain without medication), good (well-controlled pain with continued medication), fair (decreased but residual pain with continued medication), or poor (unimproved or increased pain with the same or increased medication). Results: Six months after treatment, pain relief was good or excellent in 77% of patients, 20% continued to have fair relief and 3% poor pain relief. Forty nine percent experienced facial numbness, which could be dose related. In addition, there was a significantly higher rate of complete pain relief in patients who had facial numbness following treatment. Conclusions: Stereotactic GKS is an effective treatment in patients with TN ; however, higher doses of radiation may correlate with better facial pain outcomes after radiosurgery for trigeminal neuralgia.. As with other types of ablative treatment, facial numbness is seem to be associated with better treatment response.

gamma knife; radiosurgery; trigeminal neuralgia

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