Percutaneous microcompression of the trigeminal ganglion for elderly patients with trigeminal neuralgia and patients with atypical trigeminal neuralgia.

Percutaneous microcompression of the trigeminal ganglion (PMTG) was performed in nine elderly patients (> 70 years) with trigeminal neuralgia and six patients with atypical neuralgia under short-acting anesthesia using propofol. Two patients had postherpetic neuralgia and two had postoperative neuralgia following removal of a posterior fossa neurinoma. Four patients had recurrent neuralgia following microvascular decompression (MVD). PMTG provided complete relief in 10 patients and the other five patients reported at least 50% improvement. No major complications occurred. PMTG is effective for typical trigeminal neuralgia in elderly patients, patients with atypical trigeminal neuralgia, and patients with recurrence after MVD.