The patient is a 74-year-old male with essential trigeminal neuralgia (TN) of the right V2-V3 territory. TN started 5 years before, and the clinical presentation was very typical. The pain was initially sensitive to carbamazepine, and then progressively became resistant to several drugs. High-quality magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an absence of any visible neurovascular conflict and a wide trigeminal cistern. Both percutaneous approaches and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) were proposed to the patient, who opted for SRS ( Figure 9.43.1 ).
Radiosurgery Machine
Gamma Knife – Icon
Radiosurgery Dose (Gy)
90 at the 100% isodose line
Number of Fractions
1
Critical Structure
Dose Tolerance
Brainstem
< 0.01 cc > 15 Gy
Basilar artery
Very tolerant
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