This protocol addresses the clinical situation in which minimally invasive interventions for glossopharyngeal neuralgia have not achieved adequate pain reduction, and escalation to a further management step is required.
Minimally invasive pain management — pulsed radiofrequency ablation directed at the glossopharyngeal nerve, glossopharyngeal nerve block, or percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation — did not achieve a significant reduction in glossopharyngeal neuralgia pain.
When minimally invasive measures fall short, surgical intervention targeting the glossopharyngeal nerve is the next management step. The full protocol specifies which surgical option applies and under what circumstances.
Immediate postoperative relief of glossopharyngeal neuralgia pain.
DOI: 10.52965/001c.36042
Finally, surgical management involves microvascular decompression and rhizotomy.
The two main surgical options for treatment of glossopharyngeal neuralgia that is refractory to medical management or are medically indicated are microvascular decompression (MVD) and rhizotomy.
There are two main surgical approaches that can be taken to treat glossopharyngeal neuralgia: microvascular decompression and rhizotomy.
They were able to determine that MVD was successful enough on its own with 46 out of 46 patients having immediate postoperative pain relief.
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