Sichuan Taikang Hospital Cures Girl’s Rare Nerve Pain
Having young children in Sichuan, and not being able to access your trusted doctors back home can be a real worry, especially as our little ones often pick up ear infections or worse.
However in the last decade in Chengdu, world-class facilities have opened in the city – with amazing cases like this reminding us how world-class medical care here has become.
• Recently, an 11-year-old girl had sharp pain around her eyes and ears for months. Treatments for ear infections did nothing to ease her symptoms.
• Dr. Yuan Yuqing’s neurosurgery team at Sichuan Taikang Hospital found she had a rare nerve condition. They carried out a small, precise surgery to fix the issue, and the girl has recovered fully and gone home.
• Sichuan Taikang Hospital provides multilingual, customized premium medical services. It removes language barriers and offers reliable surgical support for international patients.
Minimally‑Invasive Surgery Treats Girl’s Rare Nerve Pain
Recently, a medical team led by Director Yuan Yuqing from the Department of Neurosurgery at Sichuan Taikang Hospital completed microscopic microvascular decompression on an 11-year-old girl suffering from rare migratory glossopharyngeal neuralgia, permanently eliminating her excruciating long-term pain. The patient has now recovered and been discharged from the hospital.
Tracking Migratory Pain Patterns to Deliver Targeted Surgery
The 11-year-old girl suffered from sudden, stabbing pain in her inner ears and eye sockets for more than three months. The discomfort flared unpredictably across four areas: both eye sockets and inner ears, often keeping her awake all night. Local hospitals treated her repeatedly for otitis media with no relief. After researching specialist care, her family brought her to Sichuan Taikang Hospital for inpatient treatment.
Upon admission, Director Yuan created a pain log for the child. After five days of recording pain timing and locations, he diagnosed rare migratory glossopharyngeal neuralgia, identifying the left side as the primary pain source. The team opted for left-sided microvascular decompression to resolve the core issue first.
Micro‑Surgery Resolves Severe Wandering Nerve Pain
The surgery proceeded smoothly with full coordination from the anesthesiology team. Doctors made a tiny bone window behind the child’s ear and used a surgical microscope to examine the left glossopharyngeal nerve. Multiple tiny blood vessels wrapped tightly around the nerve, bound down by thickened milky arachnoid membrane, creating severe compression.
With precise microsurgical techniques, Director Yuan’s team carefully cut and released the fibrous membrane layer by layer, fully separating the abnormal blood vessels and arachnoid tissue from the trapped nerve. This fully relieved nerve compression while minimizing surgical trauma. Unlike standard microvascular decompression (MVD), which typically implants padding between nerves and vessels, this procedure focused on releasing tethering caused by abnormal arachnoid fibrosis.
Post‑op follow‑up supports long‑term research
The child experienced zero pain episodes after surgery. The team asked her family to continue documenting pain logs for three months post-discharge to collect clinical data for research on this rare pediatric disorder.
This operation demands masterful mastery of posterior fossa microanatomy and advanced microsurgical skills. Sichuan Taikang Hospital’s Neurosurgery department routinely performs microvascular decompression to treat functional cranial nerve disorders including trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm and glossopharyngeal neuralgia.
The department is equipped with high-end surgical microscopes and neuroelectrophysiological monitoring systems to deliver top-tier care for cranial nerve patients nationwide.
Expert Reminder: Watch for Recurrent Facial and Ear Pain
Glossopharyngeal neuralgia mostly affects middle-aged and elderly adults; childhood cases are extremely uncommon. Typical symptoms include paroxysmal sharp pain in the tongue root, throat, tonsils, ear roots and lower jaw. Cases featuring primary pain in the inner ears and eye sockets, like this girl’s, are exceptionally rare.
While headaches, toothaches, throat and ear pain are common daily complaints, recurring persistent discomfort requires medical attention. Director Yuan urges anyone with repeated pain in the head, face, teeth or around the ears to undergo screening for cranial nerve diseases for early diagnosis and treatment.
Sichuan Taikang Hospital International Medical Services
We house over 40 medical departments covering general care, specialist treatments, medical beauty, full dental services and imaging checks. We deliver convenient all-in-one health care for every member of your family, at every stage of life.
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Our senior nurses received professional training abroad and excel at custom care for every patient. Our exclusive service team stays with you the whole way: booking, doctor visits, tests and all admission paperwork.
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