Bill's Surgery a success - Rehab begins:

On March 30, 2006; I successfully underwent a major surgical procedure. For the last four years I have suffered from a medical issue called Trigeminal Neuralgia (also called Tic Douloureux). The procedure was called a Craniectomy for MicroVascular Decompression of the 5th Cranial Nerve - basically, they had to make a hole in
my head to gain access to the Trigeminal nerve (pretty much brain surgery!). Yes, to everyone's amazement, they did find a brain!

What follows is a description of Trigeminal Neuralgia and my treatment.  This condition appears to be much more common then originally thought as I have met numerous people through my friends, coworkers and relatives that have this condition.  Please read, and if you know someone (or yourself) that have symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia – let them know about this site and my links to further information on Trigeminal Neuralgia.

Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) is a rare condition that produces episodes of intense electric shock-like pain in the area of the face where the branches of the Trigeminal Nerve are distributed (lips, eyes, nose, scalp, lower jaw, upper jaw and forehead). It took me three years to get a proper diagnosis and sadly, I have found this to be common amongst sufferers.

My TN started as a slight tooth pain that would come and go in my right side jaw.  Three years ago the pain intensified and would be ‘triggered’ by a slight touch on the chin (shaving).  Once triggered, the pain would shoot from my chin through my right lower jaw and up to my right ear like a bolt of lightning – lasting a few seconds. Dental examination (X-Rays) showed no issues with teeth, so I just put up with it for a few months and then it was gone.  The next year, it came back and was more intense.  I once again had a dental exam and once again nothing could be seen that would cause this pain.  It soon went away again.

In 2005 the pain came back and this time it was overwhelming.  The trigger point for the pain would move from my chin to my lip and even to the inside of my mouth.  I could not eat, talk, brush my teeth or put on my race helmet without causing an episode of severe pain.  One morning (after a nearly sleepless night), I could not get out of bed and actually cried tears of agony from the spikes of pain. At this time, the pain didn’t require a trigger, it would just come on by itself and last minutes. I finally took it upon myself to search the internet for a cause – and thank god I found the Facial Neuralgia Resource Website. The description of TN was exactly what I was feeling and the case studies matched my onset.  Man, it felt good just to know what was wrong and that I needed to visit a Neurologist instead of a Dentist.

I tried medications (anticonvulsants made for epilepsy), but they made me feel flighty, groggy and affected my thought process.  The other option was surgery, so I made an appointment with a Neurosurgeon in early March.

At my age (37), the surgery of choice is called a MicroVascular Decompression (MVD).  The most accepted cause of Trigeminal Neuralgia is a blood vessel or artery which has attached itself to the Trigeminal Nerve and is compressing the nerve.  The artery or vessel constantly beats on the nerve and thus wears the outer layer of the nerve away (just like stripping the sheathing from a wire). The nerve then ‘misfires’ and causes inaccurate feedback to the brain – the brain reacts with PAIN.  MVD surgery will find the vessel and/or artery and move it off the nerve.  The surgeon will then insert a Teflon pad to keep the nerve separated from the vessel/artery.  I decided that MVD surgery was the only way to go and scheduled the surgery for March 30th.

The surgery went perfect and the doctor found a large artery (large is relative since this surgery is performed under a medical microscope) compressing the nerve.  He moved the artery off of the nerve and found that the artery had actually indented the nerve (the nerve was pretty beat up).  He inserted the Teflon pad and continued to search for any other vessels or arteries compressing the nerve – there was only the one.  I now have a five inch (20 stitches) scar behind my right ear from the top of my ear down to my neck.  I have a hole the size of a quarter in my skull just behind my ear, but absolutely NO PAIN in my jaw!  The surgery completely corrected my issue!

Following the surgery, I took it real easy for two weeks -  I had ringing ears, a headache and balance issues. I started feeling better the third week and I am starting to rehab my weak muscles by walking and weight lifting.  I will be heading to the indoor go-kart track (Sadler’s Indoor Racing) very soon to work my neck muscles, eyes and reflexes before I ever sit in my Micro Sprint Car. 

If you or someone you know might have Trigeminal Neuralgia – please feel free to contact me about my experience.  I would also highly recommend my Neurologist and Neurosurgeon if you live in the Kansas City area.

Trigeminal Neuralgia Links:

www.tna-support.org

facial-neuralgia.org/conditions/tn.html