EVALUATION OF THE EFFICACY AND THE SAFETY OF PULSED RADIOFREQUENCY AS A RECENT TECHNIQUE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of pulsed radiofrequency as a recent technique in the management of trigeminal neuralgia.
METHODOLOGY: This study was included 10 patients form outpatient clinic of pain clinic from faculty of medicine, Cairo University and Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University. All patients suffered from trigeminal neuralgia with sharp and sever pain along the course of the second or third division of the trigeminal nerve. Pain of TN described by the patient as a paroxysmal attack of sharp, lancating pain with history of drug consumption more than 6 months without any signs of improvement. The patients received PRF therapy by use of (NT1100 Radiofrequency Generator- Neuro Therm). The patients were clinically followed up for one year in the outpatient clinic. Pain strength was recorded at 3,6,9 and 12 months postoperatively using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Also, consumption of analgesics (pre-procedure and post-procedure) were recorded.
RESULTS: The current study was conducted on ten patients (6 Male and 4 Female ranging from 40 to 65 years with mean age of 54 years). There was significant decrease in VAS score 3,6,9 and 12 months postoperatively in comparison to the preoperative record and there was significantly reduced in analgesics consumption after two weeks and completely stopped for all the patients after 12 months. No severe postoperative complication was noticed for any patients or during the procedure.