Percutaneous trigeminal rhizotomy and percutaneous cordotomy under general anesthesia

Most percutaneous procedures for the treatment of pain are done under local anesthesia and considerable pain can be involved. If the patient is elderly or confused because of severe pain, it is difficult or impossible to perform these procedures successfully. We treated 3 elderly patients with trigeminal neuralgia and 1 patient with severe bone pain due to metastatic osteosarcoma in the lumbosacral region by percutaneous trigeminal rhizotomy and percutaneous cordotomy under general anesthesia with intratracheal intubation. We conclude that percutaneous trigeminal rhizotomy and percutaneous cordotomy can be safely done under general anesthesia.