An unusual case of paroxysmal facial pain.

Paroxysmal facial pain is a rare sequel to brainstem infarction. This is a report of a patient who developed paroxysmal facial pain with the exceptional features of a trigger zone and relative refractory pain-free periods in an area previously anesthetic after infarction of the brainstem. The characteristic of this patient's pain is compared with the pain is compared with the pain of trigeminal neuralgia and possible similar pathogenetic mechanisms.