Relief for Crippling Facial Pain
S
ome people suffer for years with trigeminal neuralgia, an excruciating pain in the face or jaw. As the pain intensifies, many seek treatment for depression. When diagnostic tests cannot find the source of pain, some are even told it’s all in their heads. Trigeminal neuralgia is most often caused by an artery looping around the trigeminal nerve, putting pressure on it and triggering staggering pain. Medication given to control the pain will usually fail to cure the pain. The pain is so unbearably intense that trigeminal neuralgia has been called the suicide disease. “Patients can’t imagine going on with their lives,” according to P. Jeffrey Lewis, MD, who is board certified in neurosurgery by both the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and the American Board of Neurological Surgeons. Dr. Lewis has chosen to specialize in the treatment of this condition, and he describes microvascular decompression— surgery that can successfully alleviate the pain of trigeminal neuralgia—as one of the most gratifying procedures he performs. “It’s so reliable, and the results are so good. There is an immediate cessation
View through operative microscope of Artery pressing against Trigeminal Nerve of pain. For pain, it is the best operation we do,” he says. Patients worry when they hear the words “brain surgery,” but this relatively short operation is minimally invasive. There is no major scar—just a small one behind the ear. Patients are out of the hospital in two to four days, and back to their lives within a few weeks. “This isn’t at all what people think of when they hear ‘brain surgery,’” says Dr. Lewis. But it could be the salvation for those living with the agony of trigeminal neuralgia. © Advent Media Group 2007
Dr. P. Jeffrey Lewis
Classical Presentation of Trigeminal Neuralgia Sequential repetitious stabs of sharp, electrical shock like pain on one side of the lower face Pain lasts a few seconds to under one minute Agony brought on by touch, a gust of wind, or facial movement such as chewing Frequency of episodes increases over time Pain often mistaken as originating in the teeth
Y Y Dr. P. Jeffrey Lewis can be reached at 716-677-6000 or bng@buffaloneuro.com Western New York Medical Park 550 Orchard Park Road Suite A105 West Seneca, NY 14224 Please call, e-mail us, or write us for a video and educational package on this subject. www.buffaloneuro.com