Migraines can ruin your life. They take away full days from your life, debilitating and stopping you from living your life how you want to. What if there was a way to minimize or even eliminate your Chronic Migraine Pain? Nerve surgery for your migraines couls be your answer.
There are 180 different types of defined headaches. Many people have headaches from time to time, but if you experience them on a daily or continual basis, your headaches may fall into the category of Chronic Migraine Headache. 30 million people in the US suffer from chronic migraines in some form. Many patients have centralized headaches that respond well to medicines. However, many people have headaches that are debilitating and don’t respond well to current available pharmaceuticals.
It is estimated that up to 13 % (likely even higher) of all chronic headaches are related to occipital nerve neuralgia. Neuralgia is a general term for pain or irritation along the course of a nerve. We are addressing the irritation caused by nerve compression in this situation.
Although the Greater occipital nerve is the most common nerve involved, other nerves can be involved as well. The lesser occipital nerve and dorsal (or least) occipital nerve which are located in the back of the head/scalp. Headaches may originate from the forehead or frontal region as well. The nerves involved in this area include the supra-orbital and zygomatico-temporal nerves.
When no other underlying diseases or conditions are found, you may be a candidate for a nerve decompression surgery that can reduce or end your migraine headaches. This is an outpatient surgery with short recovery times. Results are often immediately evident but may take several weeks. Neuropax surgeons can assess if nerve decompression surgery would help to alleviate or significantly reduce your debilitating symptoms.
For more information, visit www.neuropaxclinic.com or call our office at 314-434-7784 today to make an appointment.
Dr. Robert R. Hagan received his MD from Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He received his general surgery training at The Lahey Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts and his plastic surgery training at The Lahey Clinic and Harvard Medical School hospitals. He continued his education as a fellow at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts specializing in hand and microsurgery. Upon returning to the Midwest he completed a craniofacial fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.
Currently, Dr. Hagan maintains a private practice at Neuropax Clinic in St. Louis, MO. He has special interests in peripheral nerve surgery and hand/extremity surgery. His diverse training in plastics, hand, peripheral nerve, craniofacial, reconstructive and microsurgery has served him well to understand the many challenges of today’s pain and peripheral nerve disorders.
Peripheral nerve itself includes diabetic neuropathy, compression neuropathies (carpal tunnel, cubital tunnel, tarsal tunnel, etc.), nerve trauma, chronic joint pain, chronic groin pain, chronic migraines, and RSD/causalgia.
Dr. Hagan is committed to the research and further development of peripheral nerve surgery. Neuropax Clinic provides a multi-center platform for clinical research and advancement of surgical techniques. Dr. Hagan has many ongoing studies focused on improving the diagnosis of and treatment of peripheral nerve and pain disorders.
Dr. Hagan and Neuropax Clinic together provide fellowship training in peripheral nerve surgery to teach other surgeons their advanced diagnostic and surgical techniques. He is also a clinical instructor for the Saint Louis University, Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery.
Dr. Robert Hagan’s professional hospital appointments include Missouri Baptist Hospital and Barnes Jewish-West Country Hospital; all located in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons(ASPS), the American Association for Hand Surgery(AAHS), American Society For Peripheral Nerve(ASPN), the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery(ASRM), the Association of Extremity Nerve Surgeons(AENS), the American Headache Society(AHS), and the American Diabetes Society(ADS).
