Clinical influence of excision of vagus nerve rootlets in vagus-glossopharyngeal neuralgia / 中华神经医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To confirm the treatment effect of vagus nerve fiber cuts on vagal-glossopharyngeal neuralgia (VGPN) and its long-term prognoses.Methods:A retrospective analysis of clinical data of 85 VGPN patients admitted to our hospital from June 2008 to March 2019 was performed. They accepted simple glossopharyngeal nerve excision (Group A, n=26), excision of both glossopharyngeal nerve and vagal nerve of first rootlet (Group B, n=29), or excision of both glossopharyngeal nerve and vagus nerve of superior rootlets (Group C, n=30). The clinical efficacy and long-term follow-up of patients in the three groups were analyzed and compared. Results:All 85 patients were effective, including 76 (89.4%) were cured and 9 (10.6%) were relieved. The cure rates in these three groups were significantly different ( χ2=6.370, P=0.041): the cure rate in Group B and Group C was significantly higher than that in Group A ( P<0.05). A total of 10 patients (11.8%) developed symptoms of cranial nerve dysfunction; during the 6 months of follow-up, symptoms disappeared in 6 patients, and symptoms slightly improved in 4 patients (one from Group B, and 3 from Group C). Conclusion:Simple glossopharyngeal nerve excision and excision of glossopharyngeal nerve combined with vagus nerve rootlets can effectively treat VGPN, and the latter has better therapeutic effect than the former.