Wow. It's been 8 days since Dad has the radio-frequency rhizotomy and I didn't even report back on the outcome! A couple people have kindly e-mailed me asking how things went... to kill a few birds with one stone, I'll answer the question here and point them to this entry.

The procedure was successful in that he no longer has any pain from the trigeminal neuralgia. It was unsuccessful in that the neurosurgeon has admitted to "overdoing it a little"... most of the right side of dad's mouth is numb. He has to drink through a straw. That makes drinking coffee and tea and other hot drinks rather difficult. Also, they may have touched a nerve that deals with sensation in or around the eye, or, there's swelling around the eye, because his vision is blurry on the right side and he says he thinks there's constantly water pouring down the cornea... but if you look at him both eyes look the same and there's no dampness.

He knew (but wasn't really believing) there would be side effects to the procedure. It's hard to accept having one's face all numb, indefinitely, but it has to be better than the pain he had.

Thanks to everyone for their support, it means a lot to us... sorry for making you wait for the good news!