Abstract
We experienced 2 cases of trigeminal neuralgia due to cerebellopontine angle tumor. Seventy-one-year-old male had been suffering from the pain in the third division of right trigeminal nerve since 6 years ago. The trigeminal nerve block was performed, but the effect was not completed and the pain did not disappear. X-p and CT scan was performed. X-p revealed a decalcification of the right cerebellopontine angle cistern. A right suboccipital craniectomy was performed. Three quarters of the mass was removed and the histological diagnosis was epidermoid cyst. The trigeminal neuralgia disappeared after this surgical procedure.
Fourty-five-year-old female had been suffering from left mandibular neuralgia since fifteen years ago. CT scan revealed a low density area in the left cerebellopontine angle cistern. She was not operated because of her will and the pain was controlled by carbamazepine.
It has been established that tumors causing trigeminal neuralgia do so by pushing the trigeminal nerve against the blood vessel rather than the usual arterial cross-compression or the usual venous compression. It is necessary to distinguish symptomatic trigeminal neuralgia due to brain tumor from idiopathic neuralgia.
