Chronic granulomatous neuritis in idiopathic trigeminal sensory neuropathy. Report of two cases

Abstract

Idiopathic trigeminal sensory neuropathy is a clinically benign disorder in which the main feature is facial numbness limited to the territory of one or more divisions of the trigeminal nerve; the disorder persists for a few weeks to several years, and no underlying disease can be identified. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings are occasionally consistent with a small trigeminal neuroma of the left gasserian ganglion associated with idiopathic trigeminal sensory neuropathy. The authors report on two patients who were treated using a skull base approach in which the gasserian ganglion was exposed and the lesion was removed. The pathological diagnosis was chronic granulomatous neuritis. The authors conclude that, in patients with MR findings suggestive of a small trigeminal neuroma, benign idiopathic trigeminal sensory neuropathy should also be considered in the differential diagnosis. A conservative approach featuring sequential MR imaging studies may avoid an unnecessary surgical exploration.