ABSTRACT
Objective To preliminarily discuss the safety and efficacy of microvascular decompression for patients with trigeminal neuralgia caused by vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia (VBD).Methods From January 2013 to August 2016,16 patients with trigeminal neuralgia caused by vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery,Xuanwu Hospital,Capital Medical University were analyzed retrospectively.All patients received preoperative magnetic resonance angiography examination.The anatomical relationship between the trigeminal nerves and the peripheral vessels was identified.Microvascular decompression was conducted via suboccipital retrosigmoid approach.They were followed up for 12-52 months after procedure.The trigeminal neuralgia score standard of Barrow Neurological Institute was used to evaluate the degree of pain of the patients before procedure,after procedure,and during the follow-up period.Results Of the 16 patients,the pain disappeared immediately in 15 after procedure,and the pain was not obviously relieved in 1 case after procedure,and the pain disappeared gradually at 6 months after procedure.One patient had hearing loss after operation compared with pre-operation.The follow-up time ranged from 12 months to 52 months.Three patients had recurrent pain at 6,12,and 36 months,respectively after procedure.Conclusion Microvascular decompression treatment of trigeminal neuralgia caused by VBD has better safety and surgical efficacy,but there was a certain pain recurrence rate,which needed further research.
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Objective To investigate the key technical points of microvascular decompression (MVD)for the treatment of primary glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN)and its efficacy. Methods From July 2011 to October 2016,18 consecutive patients with primary GPN treated with MVD at the Department of Neurosurgery,Xuanwu Hospital,Capital Medical University were enrolled retrospectively. All patients received magnetic resonance angiography (MRA)examination before procedure. The anatomical relationship between glossopharyngeal nerve / vagus nerve and peripheral blood vessels were identified. Seventeen of them were treated via suboccipital retrosigmoid approach,one were treated via far lateral approach. None of the patients were treated with nerve root rhizotomy. Results Eighteen patients had paroxysmal severe pain in tongue,pharynx,tonsil or deep ear canal and other parts before procedure. Preoperative MRA indicated and confirmed in the surgery that the offending vessels were the trunks or their branches of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery in this group of patients. During the operation,the offending vessels were removed from the out brainstem areas of the glossopharyngeal nerves and vagus nerves under the direct vision in order to ensure that the blood vessels and nerves no longer contacted with each other. There were no complications, such as disability and death,cerebrospinal fluid leakage,and intracranial infection. All the patients were followed up after procedure;the mean follow-up period was 1-62 months. The symptom of pain disappeared completely in 17 of them. The Numberical Rating Scale (NRS)score for pain were 0. The pain in one patient was not relieved. The NRS score was 8 at discharge;it was the same as before procedure. Three patients had mild hoarseness,throat discomfort after procedure. They were relieved gradually in the follow-up period. Conclusion MVD is a safe and effective method for the treatment of GPN. Posterior inferior cerebellar artery is the most common offending artery. Preoperative imaging examination and clear decompression during the procedure are very important. The cutting off of glossopharyngeal nerves and vagus nerves needs to be handled with care.
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Objective To explore the microsurgery methods in patients with early intracranial aneurysm rupture. Methods Sixty-seven patients with early intracranial aneurysm rupture received the emergency microsurgery after releasing cerebrospinal fluid from improved Paine point via pterion craniotomy. Thirty-nine patients received surgery within 1 d after intracranial aneurysm rupture, and the other 28 patients were within 1-3 d. Results The therapeutic effect was evaluated by Glasgow outcome score (GOS) at discharge. Among the 45 patients with Hunt-Hess Ⅰ-Ⅲ grade, cure was in 41 cases, improved in 4 cases. Among the 22 patients with Hunt-HessⅣ-Ⅴgrade, cure was in 6 cases, improved in 6 cases, moderate disability in 4 cases, severe disability in 1 case, and death was in 5 cases. Conclusions The microsurgery of clipping aneurysm directly via pterion approach is still by far the most reliable treatment. And releasing cerebrospinal fluid from improved Paine points can effectively reduce the acute brain swelling of early operation, which will make it an effective adjuvant therapy to emergency microsurgery of clipping aneurysm.