Evaluate the effectiveness of treatment of microvascular decompression and meckel’s cave alcohol injection

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the results of treatment of trigeminal neuralgia by microvascular decompression surgery and Meckel’s cavity alcohol injection

Subject and method: 62 patients with trigeminal neuralgia which medical treatment did not control the pain or had side effects, the patient then received microvascular decompression surgery or Meckel’s cavity alcohol injection performed at Saint Paul general Hospital from January 2017 to June 2021

Results: From January 2017 to June 2021, 62 patients with trigeminal neuralgia underwent microvascular decompression surgery or Meckel’s cavity alcohol injection at Saint Paul general Hospital. Of these, 24 patients were treated by surgical decompression and 38 patients were treated with Meckel’s cavity alcohol injection. The results of pain relief time of both methods in both short and long term are not statistically significant with p<0.05 according to Log rank test. The complication rate of the two methods is similar right after the intervention but will be lower in the surgical group after 3 months of intervention (p < 0.05 in Chi-squared test).

Conclusion: The short and long-term analgesic effect of the two methods of microvascular decompression surgery and Meckel’s cavity alcohol injection are similar, the difference is not statistically significant.