{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T23:14:58Z","timestamp":1791328498057,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,14]],"date-time":"2025-10-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1760400000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Surg."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia (VBD) is a rare cause of neurovascular compression syndromes (NVCS), including trigeminal neuralgia (TN), hemifacial spasm (HFS), and glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN). Microvascular decompression (MVD) is the primary surgical treatment; however, VBD-related cases are technically challenging and carry a higher risk of complications.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>To analyze the clinical characteristics, surgical findings, outcomes, and complications of patients with NVCS secondary to VBD treated with MVD.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A retrospective single-center study was conducted on 68 patients who underwent MVD for VBD-associated NVCS between January 2014 and December 2024. Clinical, imaging, intraoperative, and postoperative data were collected and analyzed. Interposition and transposition techniques were employed according to intraoperative findings.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Among the 68 patients, TN was present in 49 cases (72.1%), HFS in 7 (10.3%), GPN in 4 (5.9%), and combined neuropathies in 8 (11.8%). Complete symptom relief was achieved in 92.5% of TN\/GPN cases and 55.6% of HFS. During follow-up (mean\u2009=\u200927.3 months), TN recurred in 5.3% and HFS in 11.1%. Transient complications occurred in 67.6%, of patients, while persistent deficits were reported in 36.8%. Comparative analysis showed that patients with VBD were older (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.001), predominantly male (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.001), and had a higher prevalence of hypertension (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.001) or diabetes (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20090.014) compared to those with classical NVCS.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>MVD remains a safe and effective treatment for NVCS caused by VBD. However, the technical complexity of these cases demands meticulous surgical planning and long-term follow-up. Both interposition and transposition techniques yielded favorable outcomes.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fsurg.2025.1668352","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,14]],"date-time":"2025-10-14T05:27:23Z","timestamp":1760419643000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Microvascular decompression for neurovascular compression syndromes secondary to vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia: a single-center retrospective analysis"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Mauro Alberto","family":"Segura-Lozano","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mario Alexis","family":"Del Real-Gallegos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pedro","family":"Mendoza-Lemus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bernardo","family":"Tenorio-Gonz\u00e1lez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yael Rodrigo","family":"Torres-Torres","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alejandro","family":"Gonz\u00e1lez-Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Octavio","family":"Carranza-Renter\u00eda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Angel Gabriel","family":"Parra-Galv\u00e1n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aar\u00f3n Giovanni","family":"Mungu\u00eda-Rodr\u00edguez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1384","DOI":"10.3174\/ajnr.A4683","article-title":"Imaging of neurovascular compression syndromes: trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm, vestibular paroxysmia, and glossopharyngeal neuralgia","volume":"37","author":"Haller","year":"2016","journal-title":"Am J Neuroradiol"},{"key":"B2","first-page":"61","article-title":"High-resolution computed tomography of the basilar artery: 2. 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