Open surgery is the most invasive procedure for treating trigeminal neuralgia. It involves removing the nerve that carries pain signals from the face to the brain, and then rerouting it so that it doesn’t pass through the point where it is compressed by a blood vessel. The surgery is performed under general anesthesia, and recovery can take up to six weeks.
The most common risks of open surgery are infection and bleeding. Patients also may experience numbness or tingling in their face after surgery, but this typically resolves within two weeks.