Thrid nerve problem or fifth?

[Kathlen__0]

  I have a cavernous hemangioma on the brain stem where the third nerve exits in the pons.
  Currently, I have been experiencing increased pain in the eye and around the lid area.  It is a pulling sensation and twiching at the corner as well as pain in the eye and eyelid.
  It is very painful and radiates to the back of my head.  When they attempted surgery for TMJ years earlier, there was damage to the nerve controling the eyebrow and wen down to my mounth with needles an pins sensations.
  I am wondering whether it is the problem in the bain or more somptoms of the TMJ as a year ago they had to go back in to collect residue plastic in the joint.
  I think it is the brain tumor, but I am not sure, hence I am not sure which doctor to go see.
  As an attempt to control the right eye, another doctor performed surgery to "tie" the eyes together.
  This only worked for about 8 months.  Ever since brain surgery there is a feeling of a light being on inside my eye.  Like the pupil never really closes all the way.
  My eye waters and aches all the time, even if I patch it.
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Dear Kathleen,
Let's start with a little anatomy.  The trigeminal, or 5th, nerve exits the brainstem in the mid-pons just below where the 3rd nerve exits in the midbrain.  It separates into three roots below the pituitary gland near a venous plexus called the cavernous sinus.  These three branches supply sensation to the forehead (V1), the eyes and cheek (V2), and the jaw and upper neck (V3).  
The symptoms you describe are referable to the V2 and V3 branches of the trigeminal nerve.  The V3 root runs just deep to the TMJ and may be injured by procedures in the area causing pain and numbness in the jaw.  The V2 root runs a different course and shouldn't be affected by a procedure in the TMJ.  It is difficult to explain the V2 symptoms based on surgery in the TMJ.  This leaves the cavernous hemangioma by default.
You have probably been told that surgery on the pons is quite tricky and carries a higher risk to neurological injury that many other areas of the brain.  It is often difficult to assess such situations without knowing the details of your TMJ surgery.  Speak to your physician about these issues and see what exactly was done and whether it may have affected the V2 nerve.  If this is deemed unlikely, the cavernoma is likely the culprit.
Good luck.