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Principles and Practice of Stereotactic Radiosurgery pp 519–526Cite as

Trigeminal Neuralgia

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Abstract

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a facial pain syndrome characterized by a severe electrical, shooting pain lasting seconds to minutes that is confined to one or more distributions of the trigeminal nerve. More recently, the International Headache Society has defined TN pain as the following: (a) paroxysmal attacks, lasting from a second to 2 minutes, affecting one or more divisions of the trigeminal nerve; (b) pain that is intense, sharp, superficial or stabbing, precipitated from trigger areas or factors; (c) attacks stereotyped in the individual patient; (d) no clinically evident neurologic deficit; and (e) pain not attributed to another disorder [1]. The pain, typically unilateral, may be bilateral in approximately 5% of cases and may occur either spontaneously or be triggered by innocuous sensations or activities such as a gust of wind, chewing, drinking, brushing teeth, shaving, or washing the face. Severely affected patients may lose weight from not eating. The median age of presentation is in the sixties, and it affects women more often than men [2].

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Lawrence S. Chin MD (Professor and Chairman)

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA

    Shilpen Patel MD (Professor and Chairman)

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Thomas Mattingly MD (Resident)

  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Young Kwok MD

Authors
  1. Lawrence S. Chin MD
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  2. Shilpen Patel MD
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  3. Thomas Mattingly MD
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  4. Young Kwok MD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Lawrence S. Chin MD (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore, MD, USA

    William F. Regine MD (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

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Chin, L.S., Patel, S., Mattingly, T., Kwok, Y. (2008). Trigeminal Neuralgia. In: Chin, L.S., Regine, W.F. (eds) Principles and Practice of Stereotactic Radiosurgery. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71070-9_52

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71070-9_52

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-71069-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-71070-9

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