Has looped blood vessel putting pressure on cranial nerve with facial twitching and throbbing inside skull. Suggest?
Patient: Dear Doctor, My almost 80 year old father has a looped blood vessel putting pressure on a cranial nerve and causing him to experience facial twitching and throbbing inside his skull that he has been taking anti seizure meds and botox shots for, but now he is scheduled for surgery where the doctor wants to remove part of his skull to put a cushion between the nerve and blood vessel......Do you know of this type of condition and treatment options? Doctor: Hi,Thank you for posting your query.Based on your description, I think your father has hemifacial spasm, and there is a blood vessel loop around his facial nerve, causing him facial twitchings, spasm and pain.Some people respond to carbamazepine and botox. However, those who do not respond to these, would respond to the surgery.However, please discuss the risks of surgery in a 80-year old person with the surgeon.I hope it helps.Please get back if you require any additional information.Best wishes,Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology)Senior Consultant NeurologistApollo Hospitals, Hyderabad,My personal URL on this website:  http://bit.ly/Dr-Sudhir-kumar My blog: http://bestneurodoctor.blogspot.com/