What Should We Do for Those Hemifacial Spasm Patients Without Efficacy Following Microvascular Decompression: Expectation of Delayed Relief or Early Reoperation?

BACKGROUND: Although microvascular decompression (MVD) has been widely accepted as an effective treatment for hemifacial spasm (HFS), some patients may experience delayed relief instead of immediate improvement after the surgery. The need for and timing of repeat MVD has been controversial to date; thus, we conducted the present study with emphasis on those unrelieved patients.

METHODS: Between January 2010 and December 2014, 3095 patients with idiopathic HFS were treated with MVD at XinHua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine. Among these patients, 174 (5.6%) reported no symptom relief. Those patients without immediate relief were the focus of this study, and all were reevaluated at 2 years after MVD surgery.

RESULTS: Among these 174 patients, 96 underwent redo MVD within 1 week of the first procedure (early MVD redo group), 19 underwent redo between 3 and 12 months after the first procedure (late MVD redo group), and 59 were observed (observation group). In the early redo MVD group, immediate improvement was reported by all patients except 1, who did not experience symptom relief until 3 months later. In the later redo MVD group, immediate symptom improvement was reported by 14 of 19 patients. By the end of the 2-year follow-up period, 1 recurrence occurred in the early redo MVD group, no changes occurred in the later MVD group, and 9 patients improved in the observation group. Ultimately, the final rates of symptom relief were 99.0% in the early redo MVD group, 73.7% in the later redo MVD group, and 15.3% in the observation group (P < 0.01). In the early redo MVD group, postoperative courses showed no significant differences between the first and the second operations. In the later redo MVD group, 1 patient developed a mild facial palsy and 1 had a cerebrospinal fluid leak.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that MVD is the most effective treatment for patients with HFS. An early reoperation is easier and safer than a later reoperation and may improve the likelihood of immediate relief.