Face pain that turned out to be a brain tumor
Original title: Atypical Presentation of a Meningioma Masquerading as Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Diagnostic Challenge in the Emergency Department.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This is a report on one patient, not a test of a new treatment.
The short version
A woman's sharp face pain came from a brain tumor, not a nerve problem.
What was studied. Doctors wrote up the case of one woman in her mid-40s. She came to the emergency room with sudden numbness in her left cheek and jaw, then shock-like face pain when she talked or chewed. She had also had an on-and-off headache on the left side for about four months.
What they found. At first her pain looked like a nerve problem called trigeminal neuralgia. But her left eye bulged, she saw double looking left, and the numbness lasted too long to fit. Scans found a large meningioma in the bone behind her left eye, pressing on the nerve to that eye, and a second meningioma on the right side. Surgeons removed the one causing her symptoms, and tests showed it was a grade one meningioma.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Most face pain is not caused by a tumor. But some signs mean a scan is worth doing early. If face pain comes with a bulging eye, double vision, or numbness that lasts, tell your doctor.
What it doesn't mean: This is one person's story, not a study of many people. It does not mean face pain means you have a tumor. It does not test any new treatment, and it is not a cure for anything. It is mainly a reminder for doctors to look closer when the symptoms do not fit the usual pattern.
Source: PubMed, September 28, 2026 · Read the original
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