Turkish Neurosurgery
2017 , Vol 27 , Num 2
Staged Bilateral Nucleus Caudalis DREZ Lesioning for Persistent Idiopathic Facial Pain: Exceptional Case Report
1Ankara University, School of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey2Akay Hospital, Neurosurgery Clinic, Ankara, Turkey DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.12940-14.1 Persistent idiopathic facial pain (PIFP) is a rare but challenging type of facial pain. How to manipulate such a problem becomes more contentious in cases with bilateral complaints. In situations when conventional treatments fail to reduce the pain, some treatment options like nucleus caudalis dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) lesioning shine as valuable means of managing such intractable problems. Herein, we report an individual with bilateral PIFP in which the patient suffered from intractable pain and was the first to undergo bilateral nucleus caudalis DREZ operation for PIFP. The patient was followed up and the procedure resulted in immediate and complete pain relief. Keywords : Facial pain, Persistent pain, DREZ, Nucleus caudalis