• Mariana Bendersky, Santiago Hem, Federico Landriel, Javier Muntadas, Martín Kitroser, Carlos Ciralo, and Guillermo Agosta.
• Intraoperative Neurophysiology Department, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. mariana.bendersky@hospitalitaliano.org.ar
• Neurosurgery. 2012 Jun 1;70(2 Suppl Operative):259-63.

BackgroundRadiofrequency thermorhizotomy of the trigeminal nerve is a known treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. Analysis of verbal responses to electric stimulation of the trigeminal rootlets has been the only method available to localize the affected branch, but patient discomfort may lead to unreliable verbal responses, resulting in increased morbidity or even therapeutic failure. Orthodromically elicited evoked potentials of the trigeminal nerve have also been used, but their application is tedious and results may vary.ObjectiveTo develop an electrophysiological method for intraoperative localization of the trigeminal nerve branches.MethodsA series of 55 patients under general anesthesia during radiofrequency thermorhizotomy were studied. The trigeminal nerve root was stimulated through the foramen ovale with the RF electrode. Antidromic responses were recorded from the 3 divisions of the trigeminal nerve in the face. Effectiveness rate, pain relief, recurrence, complications, and patient comfort after the procedure were analyzed.ResultsReproducible and easily obtained antidromic responses were clearly recorded in every subdivision of the trigeminal nerve in all patients. Ninety-four percent of patients experienced immediate pain relief after the procedure. The recurrence rate was 12.72%, and the surgical morbidity was 20%.ConclusionThis method proved to be useful to determine the exact localization of individual subdivisions of the trigeminal nerve in anesthetized patients, making this procedure safer and more comfortable for them.

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