primary trigeminal neuralgia (PTN), percutaneous balloon compression (PBC), trigeminal microvascular decompression (MVD), efficacy & safety, operation duration, postoperative hospital stay, Surgery, RD1-811

ObjectiveDemonstrate the superiority of percutaneous balloon compression (PBC) in the treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia (PTN) compared to trigeminal microvascular decompression (MVD).MethodsClinical data, including immediate, short-term, and long-term pain relief, complications, duration of the operation, and postoperative hospital stay, were retrospectively analyzed for 114 patients diagnosed with PTN who were treated with either PBC or MVD between January 2018 and December 2021.ResultsThere were no statistically significant differences observed in the pain relief rates between the two surgical methods at 24 h postoperatively (MVD: 91.07%, PBC: 96.55%), at 6 months postoperatively (MVD: 87.5%, PBC: 94.8%), at 1 year postoperatively (MVD: 83.90%, PBC: 94.80%), and at 2 years postoperatively (MVD: 78.60%, PBC: 72.40%). However, the incidence of meningitis following MVD was significantly higher than that following PBC (P