Management of refractory secondary glossopharyngeal neuralgia with percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation

ABSTRACT

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia [GN] can present as an orofacial pain syndrome in which there are repeated episodes of intractable pain in the tongue, throat, tonsils and ears. Primary GN is idiopathic, whereas secondary GN has some identifiable cause like tumor invasion that leads to constant irritation of the nerve. Current therapies include pharmacological management, nerve blocks, decompression surgery, and neuromodulation by either medications or pulsed mode radiofrequency. Radiofrequency lesioning of the glossopharyngeal nerve is a minimally invasive technique, which can effectively manage the pain in such patients. Here, we report a case in which secondary GN due to invasive tongue tumor, unresponsive to pulsed mode radiofrequency treatment, was treated with radiofrequency thermocoagulation [RFT]