Carcinoma of the Tongue Presenting as Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Case Report

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) presents with extreme pain involving one or more branches of the trigeminal nerve (CN V). Although the exact cause of TN is still unknown, most cases have been linked to neurovascular compression of the nerve at the base of the brain. Pain refractory to medications can be t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCurēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 13; no. 12; p. e20514
Main Authors Kim, David, Idrizi, Adem, Housny, Walaa
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Cureus Inc 19.12.2021
Cureus
Subjects
Anesthesiology
Cancer therapies
Case reports
Chemotherapy
Chronic pain
Dysphagia
Hypokalemia
Oncology
Oral cancer
Pain Management
Patients
Radiation
Squamous cell carcinoma
Tongue
Tumors
United States > US
palliative management
contrast enhanced ct
oral cancers
trigeminal neuralgia
chronic pain management
squamous cell carcinoma (scc)
trigeminal nerve block
trigeminal nerve pain
lymphadenopathy
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Summary:Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) presents with extreme pain involving one or more branches of the trigeminal nerve (CN V). Although the exact cause of TN is still unknown, most cases have been linked to neurovascular compression of the nerve at the base of the brain. Pain refractory to medications can be treated with an image-guided trigeminal nerve block. A mass compressing on the trigeminal nerve can also present in rare cases of TN. Appropriate imaging is necessary to identify the likely cause of TN and develop a treatment plan prior to any intervention. We discuss the case of an 81-year-old woman diagnosed with invasive oral squamous cell carcinoma presenting as TN.
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.20514