United States: A new review shows that nerve surgery can work to decrease headache days for those people who experience chronic migraines.
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It also has the potential as an acute treatment in the management of specific types of headaches, including migraine, and for reducing the frequency and severity of migraine, as research conducted by authors of the study found out and published in the June issue of the journal plastic and reconstructive surgery.
According to the researcher, Dr. Jeffrey Janis, a professor of plastic surgery, surgery, neurosurgery, and neurology at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, “Our study adds new evidence that headache surgery improves both sets of measures, providing a more comprehensive assessment of the results of headache surgery,” as US News reported.
More about Migraine treatment
Migraine surgery aspires to remove the pressure from the nerves around the head and neck areas, which according to the researchers are surgical trigger point. This pressure is believed to be one of the causes of headaches.
The neurologist’s goal in evaluating possible migraine therapies is often oriented toward whether or not they helped to decrease the number of days a person had a headache, Janis noted.
On the other hand, the headache surgery that is usually performed by the plastic surgeons usually involves the use of an index that assess various headache parameters such as frequency, intensity and duration of migraines according to Janis.
Janis said, “This discrepancy is one reason why some headache specialists have been slow to recognize the growing body of evidence showing the effectiveness of headache surgery,” as a part of the news release.
How was the study assessed?
In this particular review, researchers have identified two approaches to valuing the success of migraine surgery and as such the two groups of stakeholders may now find common ground as to the process.
The authors performed a systematic analysis of 19 articles on headache surgery reported from 2005 through 2020 that included 1600 patients.
Headache incidences: Patients reported an average of 14 fewer migraine days per month in the post-operations study.
Also, the combined number of migraines lowered by nearly nine days per month. It also brought a significant reduction in migraine severity along with possible complications.
What have the researchers concluded?
The researchers of the study concluded, “demonstrates the efficacy of headache surgery on the outcomes used in both the [plastic surgery] and neurology literature,” as US News reported.
Janis said, “We hope our study will help to foster common communication between plastic surgeons and neurologists in assessing the effects of headache surgery for patients with chronic headache pain.”
“Future studies of headache surgery should routinely include data on monthly migraine days in order to better compare the outcomes of surgical and medical treatments,” the researcher added.