Chronic neuropathic pain is a scourge in the lives of people who have to live with it for various reasons, such as accidents or post-surgical complications that cause damage to their peripheral or central nervous system, often irreversibly. Trigeminal neuralgia is one of the most notable examples of this type of pain. It is a chronic pain condition affecting the trigeminal nerve, located in the face, which causes such painful episodes that sufferers even think of taking their own lives because of the suffering it causes them.

Fentanyl is one of the most commonly used treatments for the most serious cases of this type of chronic pain, but in recent months the serious side effects it can have on people’s health if used inappropriately have been revealed in a somewhat controversial way. Although treatment in our country with this type of medication is always strictly directed and controlled by medical specialists to avoid and reduce these effects, the dependence generated by this type of medication is undeniable, due to the action it causes by binding to the opioid receptors found in the areas of the brain that control pain.

But is it possible to find an alternative to treat this type of pain, avoiding pharmacological treatments that cause dependence in patients? At the Institute for Advanced Radiosurgery (IRCA), Dr. Kita Sallabanda’s team has been researching this topic for years, and has achieved success in this field through the application of its ZAP-X radiosurgery system.

ZAP-X is the most advanced stereotactic brain radiosurgery system currently available, which treats with high precision, non-invasively and very effectively, in addition to benign and malignant lesions of the brain, head and neck, a wide range of functional neuro-psychic pathology, including acute neuropathic pain. Unlike other technologies, ZAP-X is able to control the dynamics of irradiation at every moment, managing to administer treatment without damaging the surrounding healthy structures and with an enormous degree of efficacy and improvement for patients.

According to Dr Salabanda, “the application of the ZAP-X system in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia has greatly improved the treatment time and the conditions of patients, as it is a very innovative piece of equipment that marks the difference with others used until now. It is a non-aggressive treatment with minimal risk to the patient and is very effective in the treatment of all neuropathic pain.

There are dozens of successful cases of patients treated for trigeminal neuralgia with this system: “I especially remember the case of a patient with a suicide attempt who, in just two weeks, was able to recover her normal life, and also a patient who arrived from Barcelona in a medicalised ambulance and who, in just one month after treatment, had no more pain”, shares Dr. Sallabanda.

“Many patients have been under medical treatment in pain units for many years, with multiple adverse effects and no improvement, whereas with ZAP-X treatment we manage to completely withdraw the medication or reduce it to very low doses, in a period of time of between only two weeks and one month,” concludes the specialist.

This innovative method is thus an open door to hope for many people who deal every day with the harshness of chronic pain that diminishes their quality of life, their dreams and illusions and also those of everyone around them.