a friend mentioned getting rhitzotomy done. i dont know much about this. can this help tn alot? how long does it work for? any other info would be great thanks michelle
In Type I patients, RF Rhizotomy has results almost as good as MVD. About 90% of Type I patients get relief from the operation, of whom 70% are still pain free seven years later. The disadvantage is that the incidence of total facial numbness is somewhat higher with this form of Rhizotomy than with MVD. Likewise, Balloon Rhizotomy and Glycerol Rhizotomy statistics aren't nearly as good, and all three procedures appear to be about half as effective on Type II pain. Some neurosurgeons advise against any of the procedures for Type II pain and for trigeminal neuropathy due to trauma. They claim that RF Rhizotomy adds a planned injury to the background of unplanned injury, with much less predictable results.
See our Face Pain Info tab for more details. Likewise, go to Google and run a search on +Rhizotomy +"Mayfield". You should get a hit on Dr Tew's medical center in Cincinatti Ohio. He's one of the world's foremost experts on Rhizotomy, and the materials on his web site are quite authoritative.
Regards, Red