This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on Web of Science (15)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Thomas P. Morley, MD, FRCS(C)

Arch Neurol. 1985;42(8):801-802.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

My thesis is that there is no place for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia by the posterior fossa microsurgical operation as advocated¹ and practiced by Jannetta, following the experience of Gardner and Miklos in 1959.²

The hypothesis on which the microvascular decompression (MVD) is based has its flaws, but the success of the operation in relieving pain in rougly 80% of reporteded cases is a persuasive argument in its favor, although it discounts the failure in the remaining 20%.

My objection arises from the 1% mortality and the 10% significant neurologic complications that follow the operation. These include acute cerebellar swelling or hemorrhage, subdural and epidural hematoma, and permanent ipsilateral deafness. Mortality and morbidity incidence is similar in all series reported by experienced neurosurgeons.³ The incidence is probably higher in the many pstients Wno receive the operation at the hands of less experienced neurosurgeons.

From my contact . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Division of Neurosurgery, Toronto General Hospital and University of Toronto.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Jan 31, 1985.

Reprint requests to Division of Neurosurgery, Room 222, Seventh Floor, Eaton Wing, Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 2C4 (Dr Morley).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?