Abstract
Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is one of the most severe pains known. The pain is repetitious, unbearable and paralysing. The aim of this study was to describe how the pain experience affected the daily life of patients with trigeminal neuralgia treated with and without decompression surgery. It is a descriptive study using the Multidimensional Pain Inventory Questionnaire. The study included 30 patients treated with microvascular decompression surgery the last two years and a control group of 20 patients with trigeminal neuralgia but no surgical treatment. The mean age of the women was 62 years and of the men 69 years old. The neuralgia was most common among women and the pain usually occurred on the right side of the face. The study showed constant difficulties in the patient's daily life. Patients with surgical treatment managed their daily life better and with greater satisfaction than the patients without surgical treatment.
