Late results of bulbar trigeminal tractotomy. Some remarks on recovery of sensibility.

Re-examination of eight patients in whom bulbar trigeminal tractotomy had been performed 13 to 15 years previously showed that four had no complaints, and the other four had only very slight complaints about pain. In two patients a Spiller-Frazier operation had been performed after tractotomy, in two patients exairesis of the infraorbital or supraorbital nerve had been done. As bulbar trigeminal tractotomy is a major operation and the risk of recurrence is substantial, the indications for this type of operation have to remain very restricted. Theories to explain the recovery of sensation are discussed. It is possible that regeneration of transected fibres is responsible for the loss of analgesia.