ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pain Res.
Sec. Neuropathic Pain
Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpain.2025.1639140
Patient Satisfaction and Pain Relief Following Radiofrequency Rhizotomy for Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Prospective Cohort Study
Provisionally accepted
Eyad Faizo1
Maher Kurdi2*
Badr Hafiz3Wareef Alzahrani4Norah Alajmi5Bashayer Althaqafi6Raed Gasemaltayeb2Afaf Albalawi1Ahmad A Fallata1Iman Mirza1Ahmed Najjar7Mohammed Alyousef2Alaa Alkhotani8Saleh Baeesa3- 1University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
- 2King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- 3King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre - Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- 4King Abdulaziz Medical City - Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- 5Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 6Alnoor specialist hospital, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
- 7Taibah University, Medina, Saudi Arabia
- 8Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
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Background: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) causes severe facial pain and affects quality of life. Radiofrequency rhizotomy (RFR) is often used when medications fail. This multicenter study assesses pain relief and patient satisfaction following this minimally invasive procedure in affected individuals treated across multiple institutions in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 50 patients aged 40–60 with medically refractory TN (V2/V3) underwent percutaneous RFR at 75°C for 60 seconds under fluoroscopy, followed by dexamethasone injection. Pain (VAS) and patient satisfaction (PGIC) were evaluated at 1 and 6 months post-procedure. Inter-statistical analysis of patients’ clinical outcomes using repeated measures ANOVA and Chi-square tests was performed. Results: The average age of the participants was 50.58 ± 5.67 years. 72% were female. The right side was more commonly affected (62%) than the left (38%). The maxillary branch (V2) was the most frequently involved (76%), followed by the mandibular branch (V3) in 24%. Pain scores significantly decreased from a baseline mean of 8.04 ± 0.78 to 3.20 ± 1.05 at 1 month and 2.58 ± 1.18 at 6 months (p < 0.001). Patient satisfaction scores also improved significantly, from 5.60 ± 1.20 at baseline to 2.52 ± 1.11 at 1 month and 1.92 ± 0.80 at 6 months (p < 0.001). The most common complication was facial numbness (32%), followed by masticator weakness (14%), dysesthesia (6%), hematoma (2%) and pain recurrence occurred in 6% of cases, defined by either an increase in VAS ≥4 or the need for a second intervention during the follow-up window. Conclusion: Radiofrequency rhizotomy offers effective, well-tolerated pain relief for trigeminal neuralgia with high patient satisfaction. It improves symptom control and outcomes, though further long-term studies are needed to assess sustained benefits and quality-of-life impacts beyond six months.
Keywords: Trigeminal Neuralgia, Radiofrequency rhizotomy, Pain Management, Patient Satisfaction, Patient Reported Outcomes, prospective study
Received: 01 Jun 2025; Accepted: 18 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Faizo, Kurdi, Hafiz, Alzahrani, Alajmi, Althaqafi, Gasemaltayeb, Albalawi, Fallata, Mirza, Najjar, Alyousef, Alkhotani and Baeesa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Maher Kurdi, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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