© Advent Media Group 2007

Some people suff er for years with trigeminal neuralgia, an excruciating pain in the face or jaw. As the pain intensifi es, many seek treatment for depression. When diagnostic tests cannot fi nd the source of pain, some are even told it’s all in their heads.

Trigeminal neuralgia is most often caused by an artery looping around the trigeminal nerve, putting pressure on it and triggering staggering pain. Medication given to control the pain will usually fail to cure the pain. � e pain is so unbearably intense that trigeminal neuralgia has been called the suicide disease. “Patients can’t imagine going on with their lives,” according to P. Jeff rey Lewis, MD, who is board certifi ed in neurosurgery by both the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and the American Board of Neurological Surgeons.

Dr. Lewis has chosen to specialize in the treatment of this condition, and he describes microvascular decompression—surgery that can successfully alleviate the pain of trigeminal neuralgia—as one of the most gratifying procedures he performs.

“It’s so reliable, and the results are so good. � ere is an immediate cessation

of pain. For pain, it is the best operation we do,” he says.Patients worry when they hear the words “brain surgery,”

but this relatively short operation is minimally invasive. � ere is no major scar—just a small one behind the ear. Patients are out of the hospital in two to four days, and back to their lives within a few weeks. “� is isn’t at all what people think of when they hear ‘brain surgery,’” says Dr. Lewis.

But it could be the salvation for those living with the agony of trigeminal neuralgia.

for Crippling Facial Pain

Relief

Please call, e-mail us, or write us for a video and educational package on this subject.www.bu� aloneuro.com

Dr. P. Jeffrey Lewis

Dr. P. Je� rey Lewis can be reached at 716-677-6000 or bng@bu� aloneuro.com

Western New York Medical Park550 Orchard Park RoadSuite A105West Seneca, NY 14224

YY

View through operative microscope of Artery pressing against Trigeminal Nerve

Classical Presentation of Trigeminal Neuralgia

Sequential repetitious stabs of

sharp, electrical shock like pain on one side of the

lower face

Pain lasts a few seconds to under one minute

Agony brought on by touch, a gust of wind, or facial movement such as chewing

Frequency of episodes increases over time

Pain often mistaken as originating in the teeth