12 Sept 2023 • Case scenario: A 79yr old male patient with multiple co - morbidities like T2DM, CKD and CAD managed on medications was recently diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia. However after a month of carbamezapine therapy, he comes back to you complaining of fatigue and hyponatremia. 🙇🏽‍♂️

It appears like he is experiencing the adverse effects of carbamezapine, and the patient tells you that there has not been much improvement in his facial pain since he started the new medication. Of all of the pain conditions that chronic pain patients experience, there are arguably none worse than the pain of trigeminal neuralgia. Nonetheless, this pain has to be treated.

So you have two options. Surgery or a Non - Surgical Intervention like RFA? 🧐

Do you want such a high risk patient to undergo surgery? We don't think so either!

This engaging session by Dr. Raghavendra Ramanjulu shines light on the minimally invasive interventions for trigeminal neuralgia (TN) for cases unfit for invasive surgeries like microvascular decompression.

• Radiofrequency Ablation is a relatively safe day-care procedure, and is considered to be effective for symptoms across the V2 and V3 distribution of the trigeminal nerve.
• Additionally, the pain free period following RFA is about 24 months and if the V1 distribution is involved, balloon compression may also be done, where in compression for 120 seconds and subsequent release of the nerve fibres can result in pain relief as a result of neuromodulation.
• Unless there are any identifiable secondary causes which warrant microvascular decompression surgery, minimally invasive therapies like RFA and balloon compression may be considered.

Click here to learn more on these Non - Surgical therapies in the Management of Trigeminal Neuralgia with Dr. Raghavendra Ramanjulu.