Background: Microvascular decompression (MVD) is effective for pain relief. Previous studies reported modifications of operative technique.
Objective: To assess the clinical outcomes and complications of patients diagnosed with primary typical trigeminal neuralgia underwent MVD with reposition technique.
Material and Method: From 2009 to 2015, 32 patients underwent MVD by a single surgeon at Prasat Neurological Institute. The authors performed a retrospective chart review. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Barrow Neurological Institute Pain Scale (BNI-PS) were used to analyze the pain intensity pre-operatively and 6 months postoperatively comparing the two operative techniques.
Results: Patients experienced significant improvement in both VAS and BNI-PS after MVD in both techniques. The reposition technique declared higher difference VAS compared with traditional technique (6.84 vs. 5.0, p = 0.008), whereas blood loss was significantly higher.
Conclusion: Overall, two different techniques provide positive outcomes of pain relief. The authors suggested the optional technique of MVD that would rather restrain the offending vessel than placing the Teflon sponge.

Keywords: Microvascular decompression, Trigeminal neuralgia, Reposition technique, Interposition technique, Visual Analogue Scale, Barrow Neurological Institute Pain Scale