Haunted to the point of loss of appetite and sleep due to the torment of trigeminal neuralgia
Cranial nerve number 5 is also known as the trigeminal nerve or trigeminal nerve. This is the largest cranial nerve, responsible for both motor and sensory functions. It controls most of the sensation in the face and head, so when damaged, it causes severe, prolonged pain.
In particular, trigeminal neuralgia is recurrent in episodes, with sharp, stabbing pains, often radiating from the jaw to the temples and eyes. The pain can recur several times a day, flaring up when chewing, talking, laughing, wind blowing or even just lightly touching the face.
Prolonged pain seriously affects the quality of life, causing patients to lose appetite, lose sleep, lose weight, become anxious, and even become depressed. For many patients, this is a real obsession.
Hong Ngoc General Hospital has recorded many cases of patients coming to the clinic with long-term pain in the 5th cranial nerve, having applied many treatment methods but without results.
A typical case is Mr. D.D.Su, 75 years old ( Nghe An ) was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia 5 10 years ago. The frequent and increasing pains made him unable to open his mouth, seriously affecting brushing his teeth or eating, even making it difficult to eat porridge.
Ms. LTCam was in pain and tired from having to endure trigeminal neuralgia (Photo: BVCC).
Or the case of Mrs. LT Cẩm - 90 years old ( Thai Nguyen ) had to endure constant pain on one side of her face. Many times she had to stop eating because the pain suddenly came, and it was difficult to open her mouth to drink water. At night, she had to lie on her back, holding one side of her face to ease the pain.
Dr. Trinh Tu Tam - Head of the Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Hong Ngoc Phuc Truong Minh General Hospital, who directly examined and treated patients Su and Cam, shared: "Trigeminal neuralgia attacks often start suddenly, without any pattern or after stimuli such as eating, brushing teeth, talking..., they can recur frequently. If not treated properly, the disease can easily turn into a chronic stage, making painkillers less effective and treatment much more difficult."
Interventional Radiology - A method to help treat trigeminal neuralgia immediately and minimally invasively
For patients who have applied many treatment methods for a long time but have not been cured, even when using high doses of medication, the interventional radiology method - specifically, Gasser alcohol injection to destroy the ganglion has opened a new and effective treatment direction.
Mrs. Cam is happy after being successfully treated (Photo: BVCC).
Gasser ganglionectomy is a minimally invasive technique that interrupts the transmission of pain signals from the 5th cranial nerve to the brain. The procedure is performed in a completely sterile operating room, with the support of a digital subtraction angiography (DSA) system - a modern device that clearly displays the neuroanatomical structure, helping doctors accurately determine the location that needs treatment.
Before the procedure, the patient is given local anesthesia to ensure that there is no pain or discomfort. The doctor uses a very small needle, as thin as a hair, to gently pass through the cheek area to the Gasserian ganglion, where the 5th nerve divides into 3 branches. The entire needle movement is continuously monitored on the DSA machine screen, allowing for precise positioning down to the millimeter.
Once the needle is in the correct position, the doctor injects about 0.3ml of absolute alcohol into the lymph node, thereby blocking the pain signal transmission. Thanks to this mechanism, the patient feels the change almost immediately, the severe pain disappears.
The entire procedure only lasts about 20 minutes, does not cause blood loss, does not require anesthesia, helping the patient to recover quickly.
Ms. LTCam shared after treating trigeminal neuralgia at Hong Ngoc General Hospital.
According to statistics at Hong Ngoc General Hospital, immediately after the procedure, over 80% of patients after intervention had significantly reduced pain, ate well and slept more deeply. Monitoring this group of patients for 6 months showed that up to 90% of patients did not have a recurrence of symptoms and did not need to use painkillers in combination.
Dr. Tam shared: “Every patient who comes to us has to endure excruciating, prolonged pain. After the injection, the patient's pain is immediately relieved. Seeing the patient smiling and happy, completely different from the state when he first entered the hospital, our team of doctors is very happy. This is the motivation for the team to continue trying to bring advanced techniques to more patients.”
At Hong Ngoc General Hospital, the Gasser ganglionectomy alcohol injection technique is routinely performed by a team of highly specialized doctors with a modern machinery system: DSA digital subtraction angiography machine (Netherlands), absolutely sterile intervention room... has successfully treated hundreds of patients, opening up hope for a more comfortable and better quality of life for patients.
Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology - Hong Ngoc General Hospital - Phuc Truong Minh
- No. 8 Chau Van Liem, Tu Liem Ward, Hanoi
- Hotline: 0912002131 - 0949646556
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/dau-day-than-kinh-so-5-noi-am-anh-va-giai-phap-dien-quang-can-thiep-20251125143528704.htm
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