Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache
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Neurovascular compression (NC) seems to have been confirmed as the major cause of classical trigeminal neuralgia (TN). In spite of the large number of surgically positive cases, however, there are still cases where no vascular compression of the trigeminal nerve can be found. To evaluate whether NC could be demonstrated preoperatively, high-resolution magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was performed in 287 consecutive patients with TN and persistent idiopathic facial pain (PIFP) on a 0.5-T and a 1-T MR unit. ⋯ The rate of recurrence was 57% when pure venous compression was present. The only patient who was operated on from the PIFP group did not react to the MVD. The clinical symptoms and preoperative MRA performed by at least a 1-T MR unit furnish considerable information, which can play a role in the planning of the treatment of TN.