Anyone have gamma knife surgery for trigeminal neuralgia?

Question

I would really like to hear from anyone that has had this done. How did it go? I can't seem to find anything on the internet where people are rating the surgery or talking about personal experiences.

Answer 1

I have not had this procedure, but I found an article that states the results others have had. I've enclosed this website below.

Gamma Knife offers a non-invasive alternative for many patients for whom traditional brain surgery is not an option. Gamma Knife surgery removes the physical trauma and the majority of risks associated with conventional surgery. This effective single session treatment may require an overnight hospital stay, but is often done in an outpatient surgical setting with periodic follow-up. It has been proven safe over the long term and is recognized and covered by insurance plans.

Results:

Most patients experienced their maximum symptom relief within the first 2 months following surgery.

Pain free without medication

1 year: 47% (of 118 patients available for follow-up)

2 years: 45% (of 64 patients available for follow-up)

3 years: 34% (of 39 patients available for follow-up)

Not pain free but some improvement:

1 year: 90% (of 118 patients available for follow-up)

2 years: 77% (of 64 patients available for follow-up)

3 years: 70% (of 39 patients available for follow-up)

Pain free typical pain vs. atypical pain

Typical pain: 46% (of 122 patients available for follow-up)

Atypical pain: 29% (of 14 patients available for follow-up)

I believe this will answer most of your questions. If you are facing this surgery I can understand why you want a great deal of information. It sounds very promising with excellent results.