Trigeminal Neuralgia Treatment in Mumbai

There are 12 pairs of cranial nerves in the head. The trigeminal nerves, which allow a person to feel facial feelings, are among these. Trigeminal neuralgia is a facial pain issue caused by a problem with any three nerve branches: the ophthalmic branch, mandibular branch, or maxillary branch.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a condition that affects the facial nerves and produces constant, excruciating pain from the brow to the jaw. It has a comparable sensation to that of an electric shock.

The pain may be on one side or both. Brushing your teeth, eating, or being exposed to the wind can all cause pain. Trigeminal neuralgia might start moderate and short, but if left untreated, it can worsen over time.

Dr. Gurneet Singh Sawhney offers advanced medical and surgical trigeminal neuralgia treatment in Mumbai. He is one of the few neurosurgeons in Mumbai skilled in various surgeries required in treating trigeminal neuralgia.

Causes of Trigeminal Neuralgia

The most common cause of trigeminal neuralgia is idiopathic, which means the cause is unknown.

• The nerve can sometimes be pinched due to adjacent blood arteries, aneurysms, or tumors.
• Systemic disorders such as multiple sclerosis, sarcoidosis, and Lyme disease can produce inflammatory causes of trigeminal neuralgia.
• Scleroderma and systemic lupus erythematosus are two collagen vascular diseases with which there is a link.

Treatment for Trigeminal Neuralgia

• Dr. Gurneet Sawhney may check the patient’s face to discover the affected areas if their symptoms indicate trigeminal neuralgia.
• An MRI scan can rule out other illnesses that cause similar symptoms, such as tooth decay, tumors, or sinusitis.
• Medications are usually used to treat trigeminal neuralgia. Medications like carbamazepine or oxcarbazepine may be used as a first-line treatment.
• Baclofen, levetiracetam, lamotrigine, gabapentin, pregabalin, and botulinum injections are among the various drugs employed. Both the efficacy and tolerance of the medications differ.
• Dr. Gurneet Sawhney, one of the best neurosurgeon in India, may recommend highly specialized surgical treatment if medication is no longer meeting the patient’s demands. Dr. Sawhney offers advanced trigeminal neuralgia surgery in Mumbai, including:

1 . Microvascular Decompression (MVD):

It is a microsurgical technique that includes repositioning or eliminating blood vessels that come into contact with the trigeminal root to prevent the nerve from failing.
Decompression may help to lessen sensitivity and restore normal function to the trigeminal nerve. MVD surgery is a more invasive surgery that involves a behind-the-ear incision.

Once the patient is anesthetized with an intravenous injection (no breathing tube is required), the neurosurgeon may slide a 3-inch-long pencil lead diameter probe through the cheek until it reaches the trigeminal nerve fibres.

Those fibres are addressed by numbing the pain-inducing area of the face. The microvascular decompression surgery for trigeminal neuralgia takes about 45 minutes and is performed as an outpatient procedure.

2. Stereotactic radiosurgery:

The procedure begins with four posts on the forehead and back of the skull holding a see-through titanium box. Following the MRI, the patient will lie on a table that will transfer him/her inside the therapy equipment.

The stereotactic radiosurgery for trigeminal neuralgia is very similar to having an MRI. It makes a few gentle noises, carries the patient about for a while, and then it’s done. The treatment takes roughly an hour on average. The therapy equipment concentrates a substantial amount of radiation on the trigeminal nerve during this period.

Fatigue, abnormal blood counts, hair loss, and nausea, commonly associated with radiation, are uncommon. The patient usually returns home for lunch when the box (frame) has been removed. In general, the patients can do everything they did the day before therapy the day after.

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