If you suffer from debilitating migraines, then you know how painful and limiting the neurological disorder can be. You’ve been forced to miss important events due to that pulsating pain and ever-present nausea. You’ve even had to adjust to lifestyle changes, making sure you get just enough sleep—not too little and not too much. You take the medicines regularly, both the preventative type and the kind that helps you deal with an attack. Yet you still don’t have a good handle on your disorder—the treatments aren’t helping as much as you need them too, and you’re rapidly losing the small amount of control you have. If this sounds like you, it might be a good idea to do some research about new migraine surgeries.
What Happens
In 2003 and 2004, surprisingly positive side effects were discovered to a plastic surgery procedure, the forehead rejuvenation. Patients who’d had the operation, which includes cutting into muscle, reported that their migraines disappeared. Based on that finding, some medical professionals designed two surgical techniques that identify migraine trigger points and treat the headaches. Another type of migraine surgery involves cauterization of superficial blood vessels located in the scalp. Finally, one last type of procedure deals with the correction of a congenital heart defect.
Benefits
Surgery is a good option for several types of patients. Those individuals who don’t respond well to medication, who encounter nasty side effects from their pills, or who prefer to not be on medication permanently are great candidates for surgery. Furthermore, one small study shows that over ninety percent of migraine sufferers who went under the knife saw a fifty percent reduction in their headaches, via intensity, duration, or occurrence. Thirty-five percent of that group reported the complete elimination of migraines altogether. That lead to lower medical costs and less sick days.
Risks
Of course , no surgery is without risk. First of all, you are not guaranteed to experience any relief from migraines at all. Also, common side effects include discomfort at surgical site, temple hollowing, neck weakness, localized hair loss, and eyelid sagging. As with most surgeries, there is the rare possibility that you will not respond well to anesthesia, which can lead to death (though that is very rare). Other rare side effects include phlebitis leading to deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolus (blood clot in the lungs).
In Summary
If you’re continuing to suffer from migraines without reprieve, or you just don’t want to have to take pills every day, do your research about newer migraine surgeries. Though they’re not right for everyone, only your doctor and you can make that decision.