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July 2016 Trigeminal Neuralgia Guest Editors: John Y.K. Lee, Michael Lim Trigeminal neuralgia is one of the most common causes of facial pain and can negatively affect a patient’s quality of life. Trigeminal neuralgia has always been of significant interest to neurosurgeons at least since 1820 when Charles Bell first described the anatomy of the trigeminal nerve and separated it from the anatomy and function of the facial nerve. Once the anatomy was established, enterprising surgeons created a variety of techniques to relieve the suffering of their patients. In this issue of Neurosurgery Clinics of North America, we provide the reader with an overview of the history as it is impossible to advance the field without appreciation of the past. Furthermore, we critically analyze the current state of current surgical techniques (percutaneous rhizotomy, Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery, microvascular decompression, and even fully endoscopic microvascular decompression). In addition, we look to the future of designing new approaches for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia by examining the current methods of measuring facial pain and issues for future clinical trials. Finally, we discuss the current state of surgical treatments for atypical facial pain. In this issue, we hope to provide a framework to advance the field.