One Hundred Eleven Percutaneous Balloon Compressions for Trigeminal Neuralgia in a Cohort of 66 Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

BACKGROUND: Trigeminal neuralgia associated with multiple sclerosis (MS-TN) is comparatively rare and larger series of percutaneous balloon compression (PBC) in such cases are few in the literature. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the results after PBC for MS-TN with regards to therapeutic effect, side effects, and complications. METHODS: One hundred eleven procedures with PBC performed in 66 cases of MS-TN were analyzed. Therapeutic effect was measured as postoperative time to pain recurrence without medication. All complications were compiled and the sensory function was evaluated in a subgroup of cases. RESULTS: The initial pain free rate was 67% and the median time to pain recurrence was 8 mo. Thirty-six patients were treated with PBC only, and among them, the results were worse if treated 3 to 4 times before, compared to first treatment (P =. 009-.034). Patients who had several PBCs had worse results already after the first surgery (P <. 001). A significant number of patients had impaired sensation to light touch directly after surgery, which was normalized at the late follow-up. Sensimetric testing showed raised thresholds for perception and pain directly after surgery (P =. 004-.03), but these were also normalized at the late follow-up. CONCLUSION: PBC is a treatment that can be effective for many patients with MS-TN. Repeated previous surgeries is a risk factor for an unsatisfactory outcome. However, the patients with multiple surgeries had less satisfactory results already at the first procedure, indicating that a therapy resistant disease can be predicted after the first two PBCs. Postoperative sensory deficits were common but not lasting.