The American Headache Association issued important statements about the prevention strategies of headache type migraine that limits daily life activities and the recent developments with its treatment. In the statement, migraine surgery, which is frequently included in the agenda recently, has not been included on the American Headache Association treatment protocols and had drawn attention.
Migraine is a nightmare especially for young and middle-aged women and it can be triggered easily with intense hassle, stress, noise, light, as well as a sharp or bad smell. The American Headache Association explained the latest developments in the treatment of migraine.
Maslak Acıbadem Hospital issued a statement and emphasized that oral medications are the most applicable treatment for patients with continuous or intermittent migraine attacks. Limiting the pain killer intake in chronic migraine and headaches and the importance of preventive treatments were also specified. The American Headache Association indicates that Botulinum toxin A injections, used mostly in cosmetics in many countries and with no reported side effects, are also effective in preventing chronic migraine. The association emphasized that preventive treatment, also known as migraine vaccine, is promising. Migraine surgery, which has been frequently on the public agenda recently, has not been included in the treatment protocol of the American Headache Association since its effectiveness has not been shown yet.
SURGERY PROTOCOL HAS NOT BEEN GIVEN A PLACE
Neurology Specialist, Dr. Ayşe Saduyu Kocaman, who evaluates and explains why the American Headache Association hasn’t given migraine surgery treatment a place yet, states that, patients, like in all other chronic diseases, tend to seek for a definitive and permanent solution. “Here, the attractiveness of the surgical or invasive treatment comes to light. Patients who do not fully understand the complexity of migraine tend to believe that surgical or invasive procedures will save them for a lifetime. However, it is not possible”, she said.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elif Ilgaz Aydınlar stated that, migraine surgery appears not be to be on satisfactory level based from publications, and like in any other operations, migraine surgery carries some risks as well. Therefore, approval for surgical treatment of migraine in Turkey and Headache Associations around the world is still far away.
