Post-traumatic external nasal neuralgia--an often missed cause of facial pain?
(11/24)
Pain about the bridge of the nose is often a diagnostic dilemma. There is an important recognizable subgroup who may, as a consequence of involvement of the external nasal nerve in nasal injury, exhibit neuralgic pain after a latent interval. Temporary relief by anaesthesia can be achieved and cure is possible by division of the anterior ethmoidal nerve. This rare cause of facial pain is presented using two illustrative cases. (+info)
Motor cortex stimulation for intractable neuropathic facial pain related to multiple sclerosis.
(12/24)
A 33-year-old man presented with ongoing severe right facial pain and sensory disturbances caused by multiple sclerosis (MS). Neuroimaging demonstrated demyelinating lesions in the right dorsal pons and medulla oblongata. The pain was refractory to carbamazepine at 800 mg/day, gabapentin at 1800 mg/day, morphine at 30 mg/day, amitriptyline at 60 mg/day, and diazepam at 4 mg/day, along with twice-monthly ketamine (60 mg) drip infusions. The patient underwent motor cortex stimulation (MCS), resulting in >60% pain relief, reduction in the required doses of pain medications, and discontinuation of ketamine administration. MCS is effective for MS-related neuropathic facial pain. (+info)
The relationship of temporomandibular disorders with headaches: a retrospective analysis.
(13/24)
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to retrospectively analyze the incidence of the concurrent existence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and headaches. METHODS: Forty patients (36 female, 4 male, mean age: 29.9+/-9.6 years) clinically diagnosed with TMD were screened. Patient records were analyzed regarding: range of mouth opening, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) noises, pain on palpation of the TMJ and masticatory muscles and neck and upper back muscles, and magnetic resonance imaging of the TMJ. RESULTS: According to patient records, a total of 40 (66.6%) patients were diagnosed with TMD among 60 patients with headache. Thirty-two (53%) patients had TMJ internal derangement (ID), 8 (13%) patients had only myofascial pain dysfunction (MPD) and 25 (41.6%) patients had concurrent TMJ ID/MPD. There were statistically significant relationships between the number of tender masseter muscles and MPD patients (p=0.04) and between the number of tender medial pterygoid muscles and patients with reducing disc displacement (RDD) (p=0.03). CONCLUSION: The TMJ and associated orofacial structures should be considered as possible triggering or perpetuating factors for headaches, especially tension-type. There might be a significant connection between TMD and headache. However, most medical and dental practitioners are unaware of this relationship. Therefore, a careful evaluation of the TMJ and associated orofacial structures is required for a correct interpretation of the craniofacial pain in headache patients, and these patients should be managed with a multidisciplinary approach. (+info)
Reference programme: diagnosis and treatment of headache disorders and facial pain. Danish Headache Society, 2nd Edition, 2012.
(14/24)
We report the case of a 44-year-old woman with a one-year history of en coup de sabre morphea and progressive hemifacial atrophy with ipsilateral hemifacial neuralgia, migraine, and contralateral neurologic abnormalities. While rare, Parry-Romberg syndrome typically presents in the first or second decade of life; this patient's case is unusual in that the onset of her disease is demonstrated at age 43. Common clinical features, laboratory findings, and pathogenetic theories are discussed. (+info)