RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: A clinical retrospective study was performed to observe the clinical effect of a modified surgical treatment for third-branch primary trigeminal neuralgia. METHOD: Thirty patients who had suffered from neuralgia for several years underwent modified backward avulsion of the inferior alveolar nerve and were followed for 3 to 5 years. In this technique, the inferior alveolar nerve was cut off through the mandibular wisdom tooth extraction socket or the corresponding alveolar ridge window and was avulsed from the mental foramen. Simultaneously, the neural foramen was packed with autogenous bone fragments to prevent recurrence. RESULTS: After a 3- to 5-years follow-up, 19 patients were cured, 8 patients reported a partial effect of treatment, and 3 patients exhibited recurrence. The efficacy rate was 90%. Postoperatively, the patients had different degrees of numbness in the area innervated by the third branch of the trigeminal nerve but did not have any other complications. CONCLUSIONS: This study proved that modified backward avulsion is a simple, effective, and safe method that can be applied in the clinical setting to treat third-branch primary trigeminal neuralgia.