Fully endoscopic far-lateral supracerebellar infratentorial approach for trigeminal neuralgia: illustrative case reports

• Published in: Chinese neurosurgical journal Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 1
• Main Authors: Yao, Hong, Yang, Wenlei, Tang, Hao, Cheng, Yijun, Lin, Shaojian, Wu, Zhe Bao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central 02.01.2024; BMC
• Subjects: Approach; Case Report; Chronic pain; Endoscopic surgery; Endoscopy; Headaches; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical diagnosis; Patients; Surgery; Systematic review; Trigeminal neuralgia; Tumors; Veins & arteries; Endoscopic surgery; Trigeminal neuralgia; Approach
• ISSN: 2057-4967; 2095-9370; 2057-4967
• DOI: 10.1186/s41016-023-00353-0

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a common cause of craniofacial pain. The retrosigmoid approach is usually used to treat TN, but no cases of endoscopic far-lateral supracerebellar infratentorial approach (EF-SCITA) were used to undergo operation for TN. Two patients were presented with severe facial pain and preliminary diagnosis was TN. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging revealed that a superior cerebellar artery (SCA) compressed the trigeminal nerve in case 1, and a tumor located in the petrous apex extending into the Meckel's cave compressed the trigeminal nerve in case 2. Operations were achieved through the EF-SCITA. The pain was totally relieved with no postsurgical complications in both cases. We present the first two case reports of EF-SCITA to relieve classical and secondary TN successfully. The EF-SCITA can be a promising approach for treating TN.