Surgical treatment of bilateral glossopharyngeal neuralgia

Abstract

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN) is a condition characterised by sudden, severe pain in the distribution of the glossopharyngeal nerve. It can be triggered by talking, yawning, coughing and swallowing. Classically, patients experience a unilateral lancinating and excruciating pain described as electrical shock-like pain in the areas around the ear, tongue, or the mandibular angle. Uncommon manifestations include cardiac arrhythmias and syncope during pain episodes. Surgery is indicated in refractory cases. Bilateral GPN is rare, and definitive surgical treatment for bilateral GPN has not yet been reported. In this case report, a young woman with bilateral GPN who underwent staged surgery bilaterally is described. She did not develop life-threatening cardiac abnormalities postoperatively.

Keywords:

• Bilateral glossopharyngeal neuralgia
• facial pain
• preoperative functional testing

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr Hitoshi Ganaha and Tabiko Ganaha for critically editing the drafts for this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors report no conflict of interest.