Skip to Content
800-533-8762
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Health Care Professionals
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
UPMC
  • Find a Doctor
  • Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
    • Frequently Searched Services
      Allergy & Immunology Behavioral & Mental Health Cancer Ear, Nose & Throat Endocrinology Gastroenterology Heart & Vascular Imaging Neurosciences Orthopaedics
      Physical Rehabilitation Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Primary Care Senior Services Sports Medicine Telemedicine Transplant Surgery Walk-In Care Weight Management Women’s Health
      See all Services
    • Services by Region
    • Find a UPMC health care facility close to you quickly by browsing by region.
      UPMC in Western Pa. Western Pa. and New York
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Services
  • Locations
    • Locations by Type
    • Locations by Type
      UPMC hospitals
      Hospitals
      Physical Therapy
      Physical Therapy
      Urgent care
      Walk-In Care
      UPMC Outpatient Centers
      Outpatient Centers
      UPMC Imaging Services
      Imaging
      Community Health Centers
      Community Health Centers
      See All Locations
    • Locations by Region
    • Locations by Region
      UPMC in Southwest Pa. Southwest Pa.
      UPMC in North Central Pa. North Central Pa.
      UPMC in Northwest Pa and Ny. Northwest Pa. & Western N.Y.
      UPMC in West Central Pa. West Central Pa.
      UPMC in Central Pa. Central Pa.
      UPMC in Western Md. Maryland & West Virginia
    • See All Locations
  • Patients & Visitors
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
      Patients and Visitors Resources Pay a Bill Classes & Events Medical Records Health Library Patient Information
      Patient Portals Privacy Information Shared Decision Making Traveling Patients Visitor Information
      Man uses mobile phone
      Pay a Bill
      Nurse reviews medical chart
      Request Medical Records
  • Patient Portals
  • Find Covid-19 updates
  • Schedule an appointment
  • Request medical records
  • Pay a bill
  • Learn about financial assistance
  • Find classes & events
  • Send a patient an eCard
  • Make a donation
  • Volunteer
  • Read HealthBeat blog
  • Explore UPMC Careers
Skip to Content
UPMC
  • Patient Portals
  • For Patients & Visitors
    • Find a Doctor
    • Locations
    • Patient & Visitor Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Services
    • More
      • Medical Records
      • Financial Assistance
      • Classes & Events
      • HealthBeat Blog
      • Health Library
  • About UPMC
    • Why UPMC
    • Facts & Stats
    • Supply Chain Management
    • Community Commitment
    • More
      • Financials
      • Support UPMC
      • UPMC Apps
      • UPMC Enterprises
      • UPMC International
  • For Health Care Professionals
    • Physician Information
    • Resources
    • Education & Training
    • Departments
    • Credentialing
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Newsroom
  • UPMC >
  • Our Services >
  • Neurosurgery >
  • videotranscripts >
  • glycerol rhizotomy for trigeminal neuralgia
Neurosurgery
About Us
Contact Us
Conditions and Treatments
Brain
Spine Neurosurgery
Neurophysiology
Meet the Neurosurgery Experts
Patient Stories
Classes, Events, & News
Neurocirugia
Neurosurgery
About Us
Contact Us
Conditions and Treatments
Brain
Spine Neurosurgery
Neurophysiology
Meet the Neurosurgery Experts
Patient Stories
Classes, Events, & News
Neurocirugia

Chat Keywords List

  • cancel or exit: Stops your conversation
  • start over: Restarts your current scenario
  • help: Shows what this bot can do
  • terms: Shows terms of use and privacy statement
  • feedback: Give us feedback
Continue
Chat with UPMC
RESTART
MENU
CLOSE

Glycerol Rhizotomy for Trigeminal Neuralgia

UPMC Content 2

On Topic Video Transcript

L. Dade Lunsford, MD

Director, Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery

Trigeminal neuralgia is a facial pain syndrome characterized by sharp stabbing or electrical pain usually in the lower part of one side of the face. It can be difficult to control by medicine and while we do have a number of surgical options for this, we sometimes need to have a procedure which is very quick in action.

What is a Glycerol Rhizotomy?

One way that we can change the flow of pain information through the trigeminal nerve is to try to eliminate some of the fibers of the nerve that are short-circuiting. We can do this by the injection of a substance called glycerol into the nerve after we identify the fibers of the nerve using a special x-ray test. When we do this we place a small needle through the cheek and we direct it through a small opening in the base of the skull where we find the nerve. We do this with the patient under mild sedation. Once we find the nerve target we inject a very small amount of glycerol, which is designed to inactivate the short-circuit of the pain fibers of the nerve.

What are the Advantages of a Glycerol Rhizotomy?

There are some patients who need to have a noninvasive but rapid action procedure, that is one where the effect of pain relief can be obtained in a matter of a day or so. The advantage of the glycerol procedure is that it is less invasive and that the mechanism of pain relief is usually relatively quick in terms of onset, often in a mere 12 to 24 hours. And in patients who have really severe pain where they are not able to eat or chew or talk we need to have a technique to be able to rapidly lead to pain relief, and that’s one of the advantages. The second advantage is that this procedure has a relatively low risk of causing any feeling loss in the face. So our twin goal is to not only obtain pain relief but also to not do so at the expense of a lot of long-term numbness of the face.

Experience and Expertise

At UPMC we first did a glycerol procedure in 1981 and since that time we have performed this procedure more than 1,500 times. That experience and our commitment to finding out the best way to do it and to be able to get the best relief is done based on our experience over these 25 years now.

For more information, please call (412) 647-7744, or visit the Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh website.

UPMC
200 Lothrop Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213

412-647-8762 800-533-8762

Patients And Visitors
  • Find a Doctor
  • Locations
  • Pay a Bill
  • Patient & Visitor Resources
  • Disabilities Resource Center
  • Services
  • Medical Records
  • No Surprises Act
  • Price Transparency
  • Financial Assistance
  • Classes & Events
  • Health Library
Health Care Professionals
  • Physician Information
  • Resources
  • Education & Training
  • Departments
  • Credentialing
Newsroom
  • Newsroom Home
  • Inside Life Changing Medicine Blog
  • News Releases
About
  • Why UPMC
  • Facts & Stats
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Community Commitment
  • Financials
  • Supporting UPMC
  • HealthBeat Blog
  • UPMC Apps
  • UPMC Enterprises
  • UPMC Health Plan
  • UPMC International
  • Nondiscrimination Policy
Life changing is...
Follow UPMC
  • Contact Us
  • Website/Email Terms of Use
  • Medical Advice Disclaimer
  • Privacy Information
  • Active Privacy Alerts
  • Sitemap
© 2025 UPMC I Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Supplemental content provided by Healthwise, Incorporated. To learn more, visit healthwise.org
Find Care
Providers
Video Visit
Portal Login