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. 2016 Oct 19;10:95. doi: 10.3389/fnana.2016.00095

Figure 6.

Figure 6

Neurosurgical treatment options for TN. Two neurosurgical treatment options for TN include microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery, which aims to decompress the trigeminal nerve at the REZ (A, left) and Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS), which targets the trigeminal nerve distal to the REZ (B, left). MVD surgery uses a retrosigmoid craniotomy to remove a small piece of skull via a small incision behind the ear. The cerebellopontine angle is then approached, and using microscopic magnification, the location of the trigeminal nerve and offending vessel is identified. Nerve decompression is done by dissecting the arachnoid tissue surrounding the nerve and offending vessel and placing pieces of shredded Teflon© between them (A, right). GKRS is a focal radiosurgery technique. Gamma rays are emitted from approximately 200 radioactive cobalt-60 sources precisely focused on the trigeminal nerve using a collimator helmet (B, right) and a stereotactic frame (not shown). Abbreviations: CN V, trigeminal nerve; REZ, root entry zone.