[The diagnosis of the nature of the lesion of the trigeminal nerve root in trigeminal neuralgia].

The authors examined 64 patients with unilateral trigeminal neuralgia by computed tomography and registration of trigeminal somatosensory evoked potentials. The values of the evoked potentials on the involved side differed essentially from those on the healthy side. This allows vascular compression of the trigeminal nerve root in the posterior cranial fossa to be identified authentically and the indications for surgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia by microvascular decompression thus determined. The diagnosis of vascular compression of the root of the trigeminal nerve was established in 33 patients, who were then operated on. The diagnosis was confirmed during the operation: pain was relieved completely in all patients after surgical treatment.