Chiari type I malformation discovered through a glossopharyngeal neuralgia.

ABSTRACT

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is a rare disease whose initial treatment is pharmacological. When medical therapy is not effective, different surgical options are available including stereotactic radiosurgery, microvascular decompression or nerve section. It is reported a case of a 26-year-old female with glossopharyngeal neuralgia and Chiari malformation. This rare type of neuralgia sometimes is associated with an abnormality of the cranio-cervical junction. It was performed a posterior fossa expansion with duraplasty and microvascular decompression. The patient showed a complete disappearance of the pain, with no need of tonsil resection.