Treatments For Painful Post-Traumatic Trigeminal Neuropathy: A Literature Review and Clinical Case Report

Abstract

Trigeminal neuralgia (NT), also known as Fortherghill's disease or Prosopalgia Dolorosa (LEITÃO & FIGUEIRÊDO, 1985), is a disease mainly affected by middle-aged women, characterized by paroxysms of pain, shock and burning. During an episode of pain, the muscles of the face go into a state of intense contraction. Treatments range from laser therapy, electro acupuncture, use of anticonvulsants to surgeries, indicated for patients with failed pharmacological therapy (30%) and those who had a good initial response but became refractory to treatment over time. The percutaneous procedures most used today are radiofrequency thermocoagulation, glycerol rhizolysis (MENESES et al., 1994) and balloon decompression (HOLZER et al., 1992). The objective of this work is to refer to the different types of treatments for the disease, through a literature review and a clinical case report.