فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by severe, shock-like recurrent episodes of pain in the distribution of one or more branches of the trigeminal nerve, with a prevalence ranging from 0.16% to 0.3%. Etiologically, trigeminal neuralgia can be classified into three types: idiopathic, classical (80-90%), and secondary. The causes of secondary trigeminal neuralgia include multiple sclerosis (2-14%) and intracranial tumors (less than 0.8%), such as meningiomas, epidermoid cysts, acoustic neuromas, and schwannomas. An intracranial epidermoid cyst is a benign, slow-growing tumor that accounts for approximately 1% of all intracranial tumors. In this report, we present the case of a 25-year-old woman diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia secondary to an epidermoid cyst located in the prepontine cistern. Initially, her condition was misdiagnosed as dental pain, which resulted in the extraction of a tooth, and later as postherpetic neuralgia. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain confirmed the presence of a space-occupying lesion in the prepontine cistern, which was compressing the trigeminal nerve. Upon further examination and consultation with a neurologist, an MRI was ordered, which led to the diagnosis of the epidermoid cyst. This cyst was suggested to be the causative factor for the patient’s pain. The patient subsequently underwent neurosurgical excision of the lesion via retro-auricular approach.