Microvascular decompression (MVD) is an established treatment for hemifacial spasm (HFS). However, when the vertebral artery (VA) is the offending vessel (OV), the procedure is technically more challenging. Whether MVD yields comparable safety and efficacy in VA-associated versus non-VA-associated cases remains unclear and warrants further investigation.
No actionable change for audiologists — this is a neurosurgical outcomes study with minimal relevance to audiology clinical practice.
Understanding surgical outcomes for hemifacial spasm has negligible bearing on audiology, though rare intraoperative hearing complications may be peripherally noted in related neurosurgical literature.
- 01Retrospective comparative study of microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery for hemifacial spasm.
- 02The vertebral artery was the offending vessel in the cases examined.
- 03Published in Neurosurgical Review; primary focus is neurosurgical, not audiological.
- 04Peripheral audiology relevance is minimal — no direct hearing outcomes measured.
- PMID
- 42149222
- DOI
- 10.1007/s10143-026-04327-5.
- Journal
- Neurosurgical Review
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 3
- Population
- Patients with hemifacial spasm where the vertebral artery is the offending vessel, undergoing microvascular decompression surgery
- Intervention
- Microvascular decompression involving the vertebral artery
- Comparator
- Microvascular decompression involving other offending vessels
Primary outcomes
Surgical outcome of hemifacial spasm relief; Complication rates by offending vessel type