Turbo spin-echo magnetic resonance imaging depiction of facial nerve compression by a vertebral artery in a patient with hemifacial spasm--technical note.

Turbo spin-echo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of a patient with hemifacial spasm clearly demonstrated vascular compression of the facial nerve by the vertebral artery. The high resolution images of this method may be an appropriate alternative to preoperative cerebral angiography. Turbo spin-echo MR imaging is a diagnostic procedure of choice for patients with hemifacial spasm and possibly trigeminal neuralgia.