• Yi Jun Zeng, Heng Zhang, Shui Yu, Wen Zhang, and Xiao Chuan Sun.
• Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
• World Neurosurg. 2018 Aug 1; 116: e113-e117.

PurposeTo compare efficacy and safety of microvascular decompression (MVD) and Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) treatments for trigeminal neuralgia.MethodPatients with primary trigeminal neuralgia were randomly divided into 2 groups to undergo either MVD or GKS. All patients were followed for 2 years to evaluate efficacy, recurrence rates, and complications of treatment.ResultsOf 441 enrolled patients, 220 were in the MVD group, and 221 were in the GKS group. There were no deaths in either group. At the 2-year follow-up, 183 patients (83%) in the MVD group reported complete pain relief, 5 (2%) had obvious pain relief, and 20 (9%) had no relief. In the GKS group, 55 patients (25%) reported complete pain relief, 106 (48%) had obvious pain relief, and 37 (17%) had no relief. There was no significant difference in the recurrence rate (0.45% vs. 0.9%) between the 2 groups. The most common complications in the MVD group were chemical meningitis (6%), cerebrospinal fluid leakage (4%), and facial palsy (4%). Loss of corneal reflex (6%) and facial numbness (5%) were the most common complications in the GKS group.ConclusionsBoth MVD and GKS are effective surgical treatments for trigeminal neuralgia. The rate of complete pain relief in the MVD group was significantly superior to the rate of complete pain relief in the GKS group. There was no significant difference in recurrence rates between the groups; however, there were more severe complications in the MVD group than in the GKS group.Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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