How 'frying pan plastic' let me kiss my boys again | Mail Online

The stabbing facial pain is so intense, it is often referred to as the suicide disease.

And for sufferers of trigeminal neuralgia (TN), the slightest movement or even a kiss on the cheek can trigger crippling shockwaves of agony.

Treatment traditionally involves heavy doses of painkilling medicine, yet these cause severe side effects and leave many patients in a zombie-like state of sedation. 

Lisa Higgs, 39, with sons Archie and Harry. She had the micro-vascular decompression (MVD) surgery four years after developing TN

Now an implant consisting of tiny strands of Teflon is offering a permanent solution to the nerve condition.

Theversatile, non-stick plastic material, used to coat frying pans and also known as polytetrafluoroethylene, has a number of medical applications, mainly in the manufacture of equipment.

It is now being used in a radical surgical procedure, called microvascular decompression(MVD), to help patients crippled by TN.

There are two trigeminal nerves, one in each side of the face. Each splits into three branches. The upper branch (ophthalmic) runs above the eye, forehead andfront of the head, the middle branch (maxillary) runs through the cheek, side of the nose, upper jaw, teeth and gums. The lower branch (mandibular) runs through the lower jaw, teeth and gums. 

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