Keisuke Onoda*, Shuhei Yamasaki, Tomoyuki Naito, Junpei Kato, Ryohei Sashida, Akira Saitoh, Takashi IImori, Takahiro Kumono, Tomihiro Wakamiya, Masahiro Indou, Kimihiro Nakahara, Tatsuya Tanaka, Takashi Agari, Takashi Sugawara, Kazuaki Shimoji, Eiichi Suehiro, Hiroshi Itokawa and Akira Matsuno

Department of Neurosurgery, International University of Health and Welfare, School of Medicine, Narita Hospital, Hatakeda, Narita, Chiba, Japan

*Corresponding Author: Keisuke Onoda, Department of Neurosurgery, International University of Health and Welfare, School of Medicine, Narita Hospital, Hatakeda, Narita, Chiba, Japan.

Received: April 17, 2025; Published: April 30, 2025

Abstract

Background: Hemifacial spasms (HFS) can be debilitating and disabling because they are triggered by the activities of daily living. Symptoms can lead to depression or sudden eye closure while driving, placing patients at risk. In this study, we report cases of HFS in patients aged > 80 years old who were treated with microvascular decompression (MVD) with good results.

Materials and Methods: Fifteen patients aged > 80 years (80-90 years; six males and nine females) underwent MVD for HFS over the past four years. Surgery was performed using the retrosigmoid approach with continuous monitoring of the auditory brainstem response. To avoid stretching the eighth cranial nerve, which causes hearing loss, limited spinal fluid was drained, and decompression was applied after reaching the nerve. Intraoperatively, the decompression method was determined using either transposition or interposition, with particular attention paid to the vessels responsible for arteriosclerosis.

Results: Eighty percent of case outcomes were excellent and 20% were good; favorable results were achieved in all cases. The mean follow-up period was 24 months with no permanent complications.

Conclusions: Based on the good outcomes obtained, we suggest that surgical treatment of HFS for elderly patients should be considered after a thorough evaluation of the patient's general condition.

 Keywords: Microvascular Decompression; Hemifacial Spasm; Elderly; Treatment

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Citation

Citation: Keisuke Onoda., et al. “Microvascular Decompression for Hemifacial Spasm in Elderly Patients”. Acta Scientific Neurology 8.5 (2025): 60-63.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Keisuke Onoda., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.