Influence of tortuous vertebrobasilar artery on surgical outcome of microvascular decompression for hemifacial spasm
Du Xiuyu
Guan Yuguang
Zhang Yao
Liu Changqing
Luan Guoming
Abstract：Objective To explore the influence of tortuous vertebrobasilar artery on microvascular decompression (MVD) for hemifacial spasm. Methods A sum of 138 hemifacial spasm patients were collected and divided into tortuous group (n=57) and normal group (n=81) according to preoperative examination results by three dimensional time of flight magnetic resonance angiography (3D-TOF-MRA). All the patients were treated by MVD and monitored by abnormal muscle response (AMR). The characteristics, surgical outcome and influential factors were analyzed and compared. Results Compared with the normal group, the rates of postoperative tinnitus and dizziness were higher in tortuous group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in effective rate between the two groups (P>0.05). However the relapse rate of hemifacial spasm was higher in tortuous group than in normal group (P<0.01). Conclusions The tortuous vertebrobasilar artery may increase the difficulty of the MVD and the rates of complications and recurrence. The detailed exploration, complete decompression of the facial nerve root exit zone (REZ) and electrophysiological monitoring are helpful for increasing successful rate of operation.
Keywords：hemifacial spasmmicrovascular decompressionvertebral arterybasilar arteryartery tortuosityoutcome
Publication Date：2017-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：4( 457-460 )