J Neurosurg 142:1247–1255, 2025
Salvage Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) offers effective, noninvasive treatment for relapsing trigeminal neuralgia after microvascular decompression, with a favorable complications profile. Patients with facial numbness and better initial pain responses may experience more durable pain relief following salvage GKRS.
• Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) is explored as a treatment for relapsing trigeminal neuralgia (TN) following microvascular decompression (MVD).
• The study aimed to assess the response rate, complications, and predictors of pain relapse for salvage GKRS after MVD.
• 83.1% of patients experienced initial pain relief after salvage GKRS, with a median time to relapse of 1.75 years.
• Facial numbness post-GKRS decreased pain relapse risk, while a worse initial pain response increased it.
• Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) prior to MVD reduced the likelihood of an initial response to GKRS.
• Salvage GKRS is presented as an effective, noninvasive option for recurring TN after MVD, with a favorable complications profile compared to salvage MVD.
• The study acknowledges limitations, including potential selection bias and small sample size, and suggests further research with larger cohorts
You must be logged in to post a comment.