Is there a surgical procedure for migraine?

There are several surgical procedures performed to treat migraine, mostly by doctors who do not rely on evidence-based treatments.

Occipital nerve stimulation involves implanting a neurostimulator. This delivers electrical pulses that are said to help with migraine attacks. A neurostimulator can also be implanted to stimulate the sphenopalatine ganglion nerve. The results are highly unpredictable and the scientific evidence for this is poor, especially in true migraine patients.

Botox injections into specific muscles of the head and neck reduce the muscle activity that causes headache attacks. However, this also appears to be of no benefit in true migraine.

Microvascular decompression involves moving or removing blood vessels that are putting pressure on nerves in the head. This is a less common procedure and is usually only considered in severe cases. Another operation will detach the nerve from the frontal muscle and bone. This is said to resolve irritation between the nerve and the muscle and thus prevent migraine. Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence for this and only very few patients are better with it.

In general, there is no evidence that surgical interventions work against migraine. In the rare cases where these interventions were successful, it was probably not migraine but another form of headache.

Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/migraine-headache/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20360207

Author: Prof. Dr. Dirk Devroey - Latest update: 2024-08-01 - Copyright: Clinifacts 2025