Some patients present with one-sided facial pain otherwise called trigeminal neuralgia or tic douloureux. This is a severe condition and can be intractable. The cause of the pain is not definitely known however at times a pulsating artery can be seen against a nerve and in those patients a microvascular surgical decompression in the posterior fossa of the brain can relieve these symptoms. Similarly patients with hemifacial spasms may receive the same benefit from such surgical alternatives.
