• Hideyuki Kano, Nasir R Awan, Thomas J Flannery, Aditya Iyer, John C Flickinger, L Dade Lunsford, and Douglas Kondziolka.
• Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
• Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 2011 Jan 1;89(1):17-24.

BackgroundThe management of trigeminal neuralgia in patients with associated skull base meningiomas is complex.ObjectiveWe evaluated the pain management needs and outcomes in patients with petroclival meningiomas associated with medically refractory trigeminal neuralgia.MethodsDuring a 21-year period, 168 patients underwent stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for meningiomas involving the petroclival region. We identified 12 patients (10 females; median age 54 years) who had trigeminal neuralgia in association with an ipsilateral petroclival meningioma. The median tumor volume was 3.8 cm(3) (1.0-15.9 cm(3)). The median prescription dose for tumor margins was 13 Gy (11-16 Gy).ResultsInitial pain control [Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) grades I-IIIb] was obtained in 10 of 12 patients (83%). However, 3 patients with initial adequate relief later developed pain. Follow-up imaging revealed control of tumor growth in all patients at a median follow-up of 68 months. No patient developed any new sensory dysfunction. The tumor shrinkage was not associated with pain relief. At the final follow-up, 5 patients had pain of BNI grade I (2 after surgery), 4 had grade IIIb and 3 had grade IV.ConclusionsSRS provided effective tumor control, but trigeminal neuralgia persisted to varying degrees in most patients. Multimodality pain management strategies were required in most patients with skull base meningiomas associated with trigeminal neuralgia.Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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