Idiopathic bilateral trigeminal neuralgia treated by bilateral microvascular decompression.

Idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia is the most common type of cranial neuralgia. Trigeminal neuralgia is a form of facial pain characterized by proximal lancinating pain confined to the somatosensory distribution of the trigeminal nerve. Bilateral trigeminal neuralgia is a rare situation with an incidence of 1% to 6% in large trigeminal neuralgia series. There is no single or standard method for the treatment of bilateral trigeminal neuralgia. Microvascular decompression for treatment trigeminal neuralgia is an effective and relatively safe method in older patients. We report a rare case of bilateral trigeminal neuralgia treated by bilateral microvascular decompression.