Face It: Trigeminal Neuralgia is a Pain
11/20/2018
Dreading the next episode of severe facial pain that comes and goes without warning is no way to spend your time. A one-time, incisionless procedure may relieve discomfort so you can focus on the joys life has to offer.
The pain starts out of nowhere—sharp, searing, almost breathtaking. It stops after several seconds, and after a few minutes, begins again. This pattern may continue for nearly an hour before stopping and can begin again without warning. This is what life can be like for persons with the most common form of trigeminal neuralgia (TN), a type of facial pain that generally occurs in people over 50 and affects more women than men and has nothing to do with your gums or teeth. Twelve out of every 100,000 people per year develop TN, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
“Often, trigeminal neuralgia occurs when a blood vessel rubs the trigeminal nerve, which has branches that spread throughout the face,” says Steven Zachow, MD, a radiation oncologist and medical director of the Gamma Knife Center at Merit Health Central. “This contact can irritate the nerve and cause it to malfunction by sending unnecessary pain signals to the brain. TN isn’t life-threatening, but it can be life-altering in the way it limits activities and the unhappiness it causes.”
Medication may be enough to control TN for certain patients, but for others, other treatment may be necessary. Merit Health Central is home to a noninvasive treatment option – Gamma Knife, which actually does not involve a knife or blade, despite its name. The center opened in 2001.
“Our treatment can prevent the trigeminal nerve’s ability to send pain messages to the brain. Many patients experience significant improvement in the quality of life after treatment,” says Dr. Zachow.
If facial pain is stopping you from enjoying life, we can offer help. With your primary care physician’s referral, call (601) 376-2074 and schedule your individual evaluation to see if this treatment is right for you. Our treatment is reimbursed by most major insurers, including Medicare.
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