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Cervicogenic headache: long‐term prognosis after neck surgery
Author(s) -
Jansen J.,
Sjaastad O.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2006.00771.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cervicogenic headache , surgery , neck pain , decompression , cervical spine , cervical vertebrae , anesthesia , alternative medicine , pathology
Objectives – To evaluate the postoperative fate of chronic, hard‐to‐treat and partly suicidal cervicogenic headache (CEH) patients ( n = 32), diagnosed according to the CHISG criteria and treated with a decompression/stabilization operation in the cervical spine: the Smith/Robinson operation. Methods – The cervical levels of affection, singled out by magnetic resonance, anaesthetic blockades and X‐ray examinations were mainly at the C4‐5, C5‐6, C6‐7 levels; one or two discs were removed. The study was prospective and controlled. Results – During the 1‐ to 3‐month‐long postoperative period of collar‐wearing, there generally was pain freedom. The mean time of follow‐up was 19.8 months: pain recurrence, known to the authors, appeared after 1–58 months ( n = 12). The mean time of improvement was: 14.8 months (range 1–58 months). Five patients stayed well ≥3 years. This is certainly a minimum figure. The patients ultimately were lost to follow‐up. Conclusions – For the time being, this operation should preferably be used in selected, chronic, severely afflicted, preferably elderly CEH patients, when other therapeutic approaches are exhausted.