Dikarev A.S., Tsinenko D.I., Matardzhiev D.V., Neshcheret E.A., Kovalenko F.A., Sotnikov E.A., Sotnikova T.I. Effectiveness of the trigeminal nerve branches decompression in the migraine treatment. Head and neck. Russian Journal. 2021;9(2):38–42 (In Russian).
The authors are responsible for the originality of the data presented and the possibility of publishing illustrative material – tables, figures, photographs of patients.
Introduction. The traditional conservative treatment of migraine is not curative for the whole patient cohort so far, thus maintaining the medical and social problems associated with temporary disability due to the above-mentioned pathology. The purpose of the study was to retrospectively evaluate the efficacy of surgical decompression of the first and second trigeminal nerve branches in patients with migraine.
Material and Methods. We assessed the data of 29 patients who had the history of migraine verified and underwent surgical treatment in volume of forehead zone lift separately or in combination with middle and bottom face zones lift, including the decompression of the first and second trigeminal nerve branches (V1, V2).
Results. Retrospective analysis showed total migraine-based headache remission in 17 (58,6%) patients, 5 (17,2%) patients felt significantly better, having experienced a notable decrease in both frequency and severity of the attacks. In fact, the average headache intensity according to the analog scale was 5,7 (interquartile interval from 3 to 7), being reduced on average by 42% (p<0,05), while the average duration of a headache in this study group reached 7,76 days per month (interquartile interval from 5,2 to 8,4) being reduced on average by 37% in comparison with the initial (p<0,05). No changes were detected in 7 (24,2%) patients.
Conclusion. Surgical approach in migraine treatment, with decompression of the trigeminal nerve branches, showed high efficacy in improving the quality of life of the patients and needs to be further studied in clinical practice. Furthermore, the selection protocol for the inactivation of trigger points needs to be improved.
Key words: migraine, migraine surgery, quality of life, nerve decompression, trigger points
Conflicts of interest. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Funding. There was no funding for this study.