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Treatment of Vagoglossopharyngeal Neuralgia with MVD and Other Neurosurgical Procedures

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Microvascular Decompression Surgery

Abstract

Vagoglossopharyngeal neuralgia (VGPN), named as such (White and Sweet 1969) because the pain frequently affects not only the sensory territory corresponding to the glossopharyngeal nerve but also the one tributary of the sensory vagus nerve, represents about 0.2–1.3 % of all facial pain syndromes (Chawla and Falconer 1967). VGPN consists of paroxysmal, transient, severe, sharp pain in the back of the throat, the tonsillar fossa, the base of the tongue, the depth of the ear canal, and the area beneath the angle of the jaw. It usually lasts seconds to minutes and is often triggered by swallowing, eating, chewing, coughing, yawning, talking, etc. (Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS) 2013; Sindou et al. 2014). VGPN may also be associated with cardiovascular manifestations (Esaki et al. 2007; Ferrante et al. 1995; Greeson and Linden 1981; Jamshidi and Masroor 1976; Ozenci et al. 2003; Svien et al. 1957; Tew et al. 1982), and because of its association with cardiac dysrhythmias, some may be fatal.

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Correspondence to Marc Sindou MD, DSc .

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Sindou, M., Chen, J. (2016). Treatment of Vagoglossopharyngeal Neuralgia with MVD and Other Neurosurgical Procedures. In: Li, ST., Zhong, J., Sekula, Jr., R. (eds) Microvascular Decompression Surgery. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7366-9_11

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