Saint Luke's Offers Facial Pain Sufferers Multimodal Treatment

Comprehensive Diagnostic Approach Critical To Treating And Resolving Facial Pain

KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For people suffering from facial pain life can feel like a nightmare. Many struggle for years searching for answers, seeking treatment from multiple specialists, and finding little relief. The causes and types of facial pain are complex, and finding a specialist who can properly identify the specific type of facial pain, determine the best course of treatment for it, and has the proper training for that treatment can be difficult.

Stephen E. Griffith, M.D., at Saint Luke's Neuroscience Institute in Kansas City, is a fellowship-trained neurosurgeon specializing in facial pain treatment, and he offers facial pain patients a comprehensive diagnostic approach followed by a multimodal treatment plan.

"In order to identify the proper facial pain treatment for a patient you must carefully listen to the patient and arrive at a proper diagnosis," said Dr. Griffith. "I ask patients a series of very targeted questions to pinpoint their exact type of facial pain and then am able to identify which treatment or combination of treatments will work best for them."

The most common treatments for facial pain are as follows:

• Microvascular decompression
• Radiofrequency gangliolysis
• Internal neurolysis
• Supraorbital or infraorbital nerve stimulation

While many physicians are able to only perform one of these techniques, Dr. Griffith is trained to perform all four thus enabling him to determine which intervention is most appropriate for each patient. Dr. Griffith also possesses the ability to use neuro-imaging to 3-dimensionally reconstruct the anatomy of the cranial nerve and arterial anatomy, placing him, and Saint Luke's Neuroscience Institute, in an elite territory for the comprehensive evaluation and surgical treatment of facial pain

"Many of the people I see have been suffering with pain for years and often are starting to feel desperate," said Griffith. "I tell my patients there is always hope and always an option.  The first step is finding a physician who will listen and is trained to offer more than one treatment solution."

Dr. Griffith, fellowship-trained expert in the field of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, offers comprehensive evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, supraorbital neuralgia, occipital neuralgia, glossopharyngeal neuralgia, and all facial pain.

More information about Dr. Griffith and Saint Luke's Neuroscience Institute's  innovative surgical treatments and his approach to facial pain treatment can be found at https://www.saintlukeshealthsystem.org/doctor/stephen-e-griffith-md and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR6n4k0kIvE&list=PLiS7Od3e-YiKbpMlxWSPpBcxT4hQzupCG&index=12

About the Saint Luke's Neuroscience Institute 
Saint Luke's Neuroscience Institute, a member of Saint Luke's Health System, is a global leader in utilizing both drug and mechanical interventions to block and reverse the permanent and debilitating effects of ischemic strokes. Its legacy of innovation began in 1993 when doctors performed one of the world's first intra-arterial stroke reversal procedures. Since then, Saint Luke's specialists have continued to pioneer new stroke treatments and reverse stroke's debilitating effects for thousands of patients, and is one of the world's most experienced and prolific leaders in the use of Tissue Plasminogen Activator (t-PA), a clot-busting medication for treatment of  ischemic stroke. SLNI, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, brings together a team of the country's most accomplished neurologists to provide a comprehensive treatment center for the most complex neurological issues, such as stroke, epilepsy, brain tumors, facial pain, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, headaches, aneurysms, and the latest in minimally invasive spinal surgical techniques. SLNI's advancements in neurology have made it a national leader in neurological treatment and care.

SOURCE Saint Luke's Neuroscience Institute