Predictors of response for percutaneous balloon compression for the treatment of recurrent trigeminal neuralgia following surgical procedures: a retrospective study

Recurrent trigeminal neuralgia (TN) after surgical procedures can be rather difficult to treat, and standardized treatment measures are not available yet. It is unclear whether percutaneous balloon compression (PBC) can be used as the preferred surgical treatment for postoperative recurrent TN. To determine the efficacy of PBC and identify the predictors of response of PBC for the treatment of recurrent TN following TN-related surgeries, we retrospectively collected and analyzed the data of patients with recurrent TN following surgical treatments who underwent PBC under three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) guidance at the Department of Pain Management of Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University from January 2018 to January 2022. We found, within 1 month after PBC, that the total efficacy of PBC on recurrent TN following TN-related surgeries was 86.7%. Based on the effectiveness of PBC 1 month postoperatively, patients were divided into the effective group (130, 86.7%) and the ineffective group (20, 13.3%). Fourteen (10.8%) patients in the effective group had undergone RFT before, which was significantly lower than that in the ineffective group (6, 30%, p = 0.02). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that previous RFT alone (OR = 0.20, 95%CI 0.06-0.66, P = 0.01) was an independent predictor of the negative response of PBC. Thus, PBC was found to be a moderately effective and safe treatment for recurrent TN after TN-related surgery. However, previous RFT procedures may predict a slightly worse outcome after PBC.