PDF icon Download PDF
Open Access
CC BY 4.0 · Indian Journal of Neurosurgery
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1809874
Original Article

Trigeminal Neuralgia—A Comparative Analysis of Radiofrequency Electrode Lesioning Temperature at 65°C and 75°C for 60 Seconds Each

Asheesh Tandon
1   Advance Neurosurgery Centre for Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Surgery, Aditya Superspeciality Hospital and Trauma Centre, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Mabel Banson 
1   Advance Neurosurgery Centre for Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Surgery, Aditya Superspeciality Hospital and Trauma Centre, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Chudasama Bhaumik
2   Department of Neurosurgery, Shri M. P. Shah Government Medical College, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India
,
Himanshu Verma
1   Advance Neurosurgery Centre for Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Surgery, Aditya Superspeciality Hospital and Trauma Centre, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Prashant Kushwaha
1   Advance Neurosurgery Centre for Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Surgery, Aditya Superspeciality Hospital and Trauma Centre, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
,
Alok Agrawal
1   Advance Neurosurgery Centre for Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Surgery, Aditya Superspeciality Hospital and Trauma Centre, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
Also available ateRefMedOne
  Permissions and Reprints
Preview

Abstract

Background

Pain affecting the distribution of one or more of the three divisions of the trigeminal nerve defines trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is one of its effective treatment modalities. The ideal RFA lesioning temperature is still under evaluation.

Objective

The authors evaluate the efficacy of pain relief of RFA at 65 and 75°C, in patients with TN. Pain relief at 1 year was the study's primary outcome. Secondary outcomes: trigeminal division, complication rate, and recurrence rate.

Materials and Methods

Medical records of patients with refractory TN at our center were reviewed from January 2016 to December 2023; last new case in May 2023. Excluded were the patients who were lost to follow-up or had incomplete data. Data extracted include age, gender, lesioning temperature, and the extent of pain relief. Pain relief was recorded on a visual analogue scale of 0 to 100. Recurrence was defined as the need for repeat RFA. The data were entered and analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics (version 26).

Results

Fifty-six patients were reviewed. The mean age was 59.6 ± 11.9 years; slight female preponderance. The commonest side of TN was the right (n = 35, 62.5%). Maxillary division (V2) was the most reported (53, 94.6%); isolated in 28 (50.0%) patients. Good-to-excellent pain relief at 1 year noted in 47 (83.9%) patients. Recurrence was 16.1%. The overall complication rate was 37.5%, commonest reported was numbness. Patients receiving the 75°C RFA had better pain relief; about 60% (n = 19) patients achieved excellent pain relief.

Conclusion

Better pain relief was observed with 75°C RFA, compared to the 65°C RFA. However, complications were higher with the 75°C RFA.

Keywords

trigeminal neuralgia - radiofrequency ablation - pain relief

Authors' Contribution

All author contributed to conceptualization, design of work and data interpretation. T.A., M.B., C.B., H.V. contributed to data acquisition. M.B., C.B. contributed to data analysis. T.A., M.B., C.B. contributed to manuscript drafting. All authors contributed to manuscript's critical review and approval of final document and agreed to be accountable.




Publication History

Article published online:
25 June 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India