ABSENT MECKEL’S CAVE ON MRI, IN A CLINICALLY DIAGNOSED CASE OF TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA. A very rare case report.

Abstract

Trigeminal neuralgia is a very painful condition in the sensory distribution of the trigeminal nerve and most common cause is compression of the cisternal segment of the trigeminal nerve by a vessel, usually an artery. However a number of additional pathologies may affect the trigeminal nerve anywhere along its course from origin to the most peripheral branches and may cause severe facial pain. We present a case of 35 year old female who came with complaints of pain and numbness on right side of the face of   3 week duration. Clinical diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia was made. However MRI did not revealed any vascular compression except a tiny vessel was seen to be touching only the superior surface of right trigeminal nerve in its cisternal segment. Another MRI finding was absence of Meckel’s cave on right side which is also a rare cause of patient’s symptoms. To our knowledge very few cases of absent Meckel’s cave have been reported so for¹.