MVD and clamping the nerve off?

General General TN & GPN (Old Site)
1

Hi everyone,

I've been seen by a neurosurgeon who agreed that my best option for treatment is an MVD. I had an MRI a few years ago when my TN started which was normal, however according to the surgeon they didn't do what's called a TN protocol MRI here so it probably wasn't in enough detail. I'm going for a repeat MRI on Tuesday. Who knows if that will show anything.

I got a letter saying that I'm on the MVD waiting list and I should get my surgery within 5 months. My neurosurgeon said that usually when he does the craniotomy he will see blood vessels impacting the nerve but if he can't then he usually clamps the nerve off so the patient will hopefully still have a pain-free outcome from the surgery.

I would think that clamping it off would stop the pain (just like other treatment that damages the nerve) but it would cause numbness permanently? Is this a usual thing for a neurosurgeon to do?

Thanks!

2

I personally did not want this done, I told my neurosurgeon that if no compressions were found, to just leave things as is, untouched.

As a true cause for everyone is not yet established only suspected causes to date, I’d rather not damage my nerve anymore than it already has been naturally. Just my perspective, we all must decide for ourselves after much research before agreeing to anything.

We’re all desperate for relief, but if I were you poison ivy, look into it more. It’s been discussed here at LwTN before, maybe check the search feature in the upper right to find past Discussions.

I know a few people have had it done…

Here’s a link to a past discussion; http://www.livingwithtn.org/forum/topics/cutting-the-nerves-to-relieve-pain
(( hugs )) Mimi