Cranial Nerve Disorders

Cranial Nerve Disorders

What are Cranial Nerve Disorders?

Cranial nerve disorders are a group of conditions affecting the cranial nerves leaving the brain, resulting in facial pain or twitching. The most common cause of these problems is compression of cranial nerves due to a nerve impinging on blood vessel. By separating the blood vessel from the affected nerve, these symptoms can improve or be eliminated in a majority of patients. Orange County neurosurgeon Robert Louis, MD, performs minimally invasive microvascular decompression (MVD) to move blood vessel from to preserves the surrounding normal structures as best as possible. Depending on the nerve affected, various other therapies may be indicated.

Dr. Robert Louis specializes in minimally invasive approaches to treat various cranial nerve disorders. For appointments, please call (949) 383-4185 or Contact Us.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve on the face. The trigeminal nerve provides sensation to the face.

Hemifacial spasm is characterized by continuous painless twitching of one side of the face, which usually begins around the eye and spreads to the cheek and mouth. This involuntary twitching cannot be controlled by oral medications.

In glossopharyngeal neuralgia, the shooting pain occurs in the throat, tonsil region, and base of the tongue on one side. The pain is spontaneous or most of the time triggered by swallowing.