Textbook of Trigeminal Neuralgia

Book excerpt: "Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a condition that can cause intense facial pain sometimes so severe it can interfere with the normal activities of daily living. Brief, painful episodes may be triggered by chewing, talking, smiling, brushing teeth, shaving, or light pressure on the face. The pain may be sudden, intense, and sporadic (off and on). It also may be more constant but less severe. Usually, TN affects only one side of the face but can rarely be bilateral also. The approximate prevalence of the condition is 3-6 per 100,000 populations with slight female predominance. The condition can be often treated with drugs,but in some cases the pain is so intractable and do not responds to the conventional drugs. In such cases treating physicians need to consider more advanced options. If there is an underlying vascular loop open surgical therapy can be considered, but open surgery carries the associated complications hence other less invasive options are preferred by the patients. This book will provide a comprehensive review about the clinical presentation,etiopathogenesis,drug therapy,surgical options,Botulinum toxin therapy,lesioning procedures, treatment outcome and clinical trial results to choose between the procedure. In short the book will provide an overall picture about this condition to the treating physicians and surgeons, researchers in the field and to patients to choose the best therapy for this extremely painful disorder"--