Therapeutic effect of great occipital nerve decompression on great occipital neurogenic intractable migraine / 中华神经医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To study the effectiveness and safety of great occipital nerve decompression in great occipital neurogenic intractable migraine.Methods:Fifty-one patients with great occipital neurogenic intractable migraine admitted to our hospital from December 2018 to December 2019 were chosen in our study. All patients were confirmed to be of great occipital neurogenic intractable migraine by blocked test and all patients underwent minimally invasive decompression of great occipital nerve. Preoperative and postoperative questionnaires were used to compare the severity of pain and frequency of pain episodes, and the prognoses of these patients were evaluated at the last follow-up.Results:Fifty-one patients were followed up for (12.02±3.36) months after surgery; at last follow-up, 10 patients were cured, 31 patients had obvious effect, 6 patients got improvement, 2 patients had poor effect, and 2 patients had no effect, with total effective rate of 80.40% (41/51). There were significant differences between before surgery and after surgery in the pain visual analog scale scores (7.47±0.76 vs.1.75±1.91) and frequency of pain episodes ([9.00±1.74] times/month vs. [2.82±2.47] times/month, P<0.05). Seven patients had temporary numbness at the surgical site after surgery, but 6 patients improved about 3 months after surgery and only one patient had persistent numbness. Conclusion:Great occipital nerve decompression is an effective and safe treatment method for great occipital neurogenic intractable migraine.