Why a treatment name is not enough
A neurosurgical team reading your file needs to reconstruct a timeline, not a label. 'Carbamazepine' tells them almost nothing. 'Carbamazepine 200 mg twice daily from March 2023; pain dropped from daily shocks to about two episodes a week for four months, then returned; dose increase caused drowsiness and did not help' gives them a pattern they can compare with the diagnosis and with other options.
The same applies to procedures. 'Had a radiofrequency lesion' is a name. 'Radiofrequency lesion in June 2024; complete relief for seven weeks, then pain returned in the same cheek and jaw area, now sharper and more frequent' is a result. The difference matters because microvascular decompression is considered when a blood vessel is thought to be compressing the trigeminal nerve in selected patients, and the history helps the team judge whether that explanation fits your case.
You are not being asked to interpret your own results. You are being asked to report them accurately so the clinician can interpret them. Write in plain language, keep the order chronological, and separate what you were told from what you actually experienced.
What to write for each medicine you have tried
For every drug, include the name, the dose, the dates, the effect on pain, and the reason it stopped or changed. 'Effect on pain' should be concrete: how often the attacks came, how severe they felt, and whether the change lasted. If you kept a pain diary, mention it and bring it.
Side effects belong in the same entry, because they often explain why a drug was stopped or why the dose could not be increased. Dizziness, drowsiness, unsteadiness, rash, blood-test changes and any emergency visit are all relevant. If a clinician adjusted the dose, say who did so and when.
Do not stop or change any medicine in order to prepare a file. The treating team decides medicine changes. Your job is to describe what has already happened, not to create a cleaner story.
What to write for each procedure or injection
For each procedure, give the date, the hospital, the type of procedure, and the result over time. 'Complete relief for two months, then partial return' is more useful than 'helped a bit'. Note whether the pain returned in the same place, a different branch of the face, or with a different character.
Include complications or after-effects: numbness, altered sensation, weakness, eye problems, infection, or a longer recovery than expected. These details affect how a surgeon weighs the risks of another procedure.
If you have the procedure report, operative note or discharge summary, bring it. If you do not, say so clearly rather than guessing. A missing report is a gap to name, not a reason to delay seeking advice about your current symptoms.
Imaging and diagnostic records that support the history
Bring the actual images, not only the written report. MRI images on disc or a secure transfer, plus the radiology report, allow the team to look for evidence of vascular contact and to compare with any earlier scans. If you have had more than one MRI, include the dates so the team can see whether anything changed.
Say what you were told the scan showed, but keep it separate from the report itself. 'I was told there was a vessel touching the nerve' is your recollection. The report is the document. The clinician will decide what the images support.
A scan showing contact between a vessel and the nerve does not by itself prove the diagnosis or guarantee that surgery will help. That is a clinical judgement for the team reviewing your case, and it is one reason they need the full history rather than a single image.
Questions that turn your history into a useful review
When you send your records, ask specific questions. Ask how the team confirms the diagnosis in your case, how they compare microvascular decompression with other options given your previous results, and what postoperative review they plan for your condition. Ask what records are still missing and whether they want the original images.
Ask what the team needs to know about your current pain pattern, your medicines and your general health. Ask whether any additional assessment would be needed before a decision, and who would carry it out.
These questions are not a request for a guaranteed answer. They are a way to make sure the review addresses your actual situation rather than a generic description of the procedure.
One more question is worth adding: what does the team want to see that you have not yet sent? A short reply naming the missing items is more useful than a long list of everything you could possibly gather.
If you have been treated at more than one hospital, say so at the start. The team needs to know which records come from where, because a single chronology built from several sources is easier to read than separate packets with no dates linking them.
If your previous treatment was outside your home country, note the language of the reports and whether a translation exists. Do not commission a translation before the team tells you what it needs; a summary in your own words can come first.
Keep your questions concrete and few. Three or four clear questions get a more useful reply than a page of general concerns. Write them down before you send anything, so the reply can be matched against what you actually asked.
Preparing the summary and taking the next step
Keep your summary to one or two pages. Use headings: diagnosis and date, current symptoms, medicines, procedures, imaging, other conditions, and your main question. Put the most recent information first within each heading, and attach the supporting documents behind it.
If your symptoms are worsening, or you have new weakness, vision changes or difficulty with daily activities, seek local medical care first. An overseas enquiry should not delay assessment of an urgent change.
An initial enquiry is free and can start with a short summary rather than a complete archive. The team can then tell you what is missing and what the relevant next step is. Hospital acceptance and surgical suitability are decided by the treating hospital and its clinicians, not by the enquiry itself.
Sources & scope of this guide
References and official service information relevant to this guide.
This is general planning information and has not been individually reviewed by a doctor. Medical decisions and personal treatment advice come from your treating clinicians.