Click this link to read a post I like on the clusterheadaches.com message board...

May 21^st, 2025 at 3:41pm

	Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register
	Search box updated Dec 3, 2011... Search ch.com with Google!

New CH.com Forum › Cluster Headache Help and Support › Medications, Treatments, Therapies › Surgery?

(Moderators: Mrs Deej, DJ)

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›

Pages: 1

Surgery? (Read 825 times)

Kim D

CH.com Junior

Offline

Posts: 77
Nashville, TN
Gender: female

Surgery?
Jan 28^th, 2009 at 10:01am

"Different types of surgery have been used over the years to treat chronic cluster headaches, but those which deaden the pain-sensitive cells of the fifth cranial nerve have worked best. Use of radiofrequency heating by means of a needle that deadens the trigeminal root nerve fibers may be effective, with fewer side effects than other invasive procedures. However, this therapy is usually used only after all other treatment has failed."

I found this artice on a local news site. Has anyone ever suggest this to their doctor or had this procedure?

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1.

IP Logged

Bob Johnson

CH.com Alumnus

Offline

"Only the educated are
free." -Epictetus

Posts: 5965
Kennett Square, PA (USA)
Gender: male

Re: Surgery?
Reply #1 - Jan 28^th, 2009 at 11:13am

I did a search on PubMed [major source of medical info] and found only one article in the last several years. Of the 12 abstracts hit, most were dated in the 1990s. This suggests to me that it's an approach which has not gained much attention.

But this is the latest abstract:

Headache. 2008 Sep 9. [Epub ahead of print]
Sphenopalatine Ganglion Radiofrequency Ablation for the Management of Chronic Cluster Headache.

Narouze S, Kapural L, Casanova J, Mekhail N.

Cleveland Clinic Foundation-Pain Management Department, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Objectives.- Chronic cluster headache patients are often resistant to pharmacological management. Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) was shown before to improve episodic cluster headache but not chronic cluster headache. We were interested to examine the effect of such intervention in patients with intractable chronic cluster headache who failed pharmacological management. Methods.- Fifteen patients with chronic cluster headache, who experienced temporary pain relief following SPG block, underwent percutaneous RFA via the infrazygomatic approach under fluoroscopic guidance. Collected data include demographic variables, onset and duration of the headache, mean attack intensity (MAI), mean attack frequency (MAF), and pain disability index (PDI) before and up to 18 months after procedure. Results.- At 1-, 3-, 6-, 12-, 18-month follow-up, the MAI was 2.6, 3.2, 3.2, 3.4, 4.2, respectively (P < .0001, P < .0001, P < .0001, P < .0005, P < .003, respectively). The PDI improved from 55 (baseline) to 17.2 and 25.6 at 6 and 12 months respectively (P < .001). The MAF improved from 17 attacks/week to 5.4, 6.4, 7.8, 8.6, 8.3 at 1-, 3-, 6-, 12-, 18-month follow-up visits (P < .0001, P < .0001, P < .0001, P < .002, P < .004, respectively).
Conclusion.- Our data showed that percutaneous RFA of the SPG is an effective modality of treatment for patients with intractable chronic cluster headaches. Precise needle placement with the use of real-time fluoroscopy and electrical stimulation prior to attempting radiofrequency lesioning may reduce the incidence of adverse events.

PMID: 18783451 [PubMed

Bob Johnson

IP Logged

ClusterChuck

CH.com Alumnus

Offline

The BEAST rises again,
and again, and again,
and .

Posts: 5394
Greenville, North Carolina
Gender: male

Re: Surgery?
Reply #2 - Jan 28^th, 2009 at 1:03pm

Surgery is only for those that have tried everything else, and mostly chronic. You have a LONG way to go, before resorting to such a step. There are plenty of medications and combinations for you to try. AND you are episodic, not chronic.

You can make it, girl! Get on a preventative, that works for you (this may take time), and get an abortive that works too, for those hits that make it through the preventative medication.

Oxygen is the safest, cheapest, and most successful of all abortives. See the button, on the left side of your screen, titled oxygen info. That should answer most of your questions. If not, don't be afraid to ask.

Good LUCK!

Chuck

CAUTION: Do NOT smoke when using or around oxygen. Oxygen can permeate your clothing or bedding. Wait, before lighting cigarette or flame.

Keep fire extinguisher available, and charged.

IP Logged

Pages: 1

‹ Previous Topic | Next Topic ›

« Home

‹ Board

Top of this page

©1998-2013 Web Vision Enterprises LLC All rights reserved. All information on this site is protected by international
copyright laws. You may not re-distribute any information from this site without written permission from
Web Vision Enterprises LLC and the webmaster of this site. Violators will be prosecuted.
You may view our privacy policy and financial disclosure statement here

DISCLAIMER: All information contained on this web site is for informational purposes only. It is in no way intended to be used as a replacement for professional medical treatment. clusterheadaches.com makes no claims as to the scientific/clinical validity of the information on this site OR to that of the information linked to from this site. All information taken from the internet should be discussed with a medical professional!