Surgical Outcomes of Microvascular Decompression vs. Endoscope-Assisted Microvascular Decompression

Objective

To compare the surgical outcomes of conventional microvascular decompression (MVD) and endoscope-assisted microvascular decompression (EA-MVD) in patients with medically refractory primary trigeminal neuralgia (TN), and to evaluate the additional intraoperative value of endoscopic visualization. Materials & Methods: This retrospective, single-center study involved 35 patients with primary TN who received MVD from July 2024 to December 2025. Twenty patients were treated with conventional MVD, and 15 with EA-MVD. Postoperative pain relief (Barrow Neurological Institute pain intensity score), recurrence, intraoperative findings, operative time, and postoperative complications were the outcomes.