Surgery

Surgical intervention may be considered for patients with chronic cluster headaches that do not respond to treatments. Patients whose headaches have not gone into remission for at least a year may also be candidates for surgery. Most surgical approaches for cluster headache are still considered experimental. To date, surgery has shown limited success and can have distressing side effects. However, some surgical techniques, such as deep brain electrical stimulation, are showing promise.

Deep Brain Electrical Stimulation

Relief of chronic cluster headaches has been achieved in a small number of patients using deep brain stimulation (also called neurostimulation). A similar technique is approved for treating the tremors associated with Parkinson’s disease. The surgeon implants a tiny wire in a specific part of the hypothalamus, which receives electrical pulses from a small generator implanted under the collarbone.

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Although only a handful of patients have been treated, results to date are promising. Some patients have remained completely free of pain for an average of more than seven months when the electrode is switched on. When the device is turned off, headaches reappear within days to weeks. The procedure is reversible and appears to be generally safe, although one patient developed a fatal cerebral hemorrhage within four hours of the procedure.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation

The vagus nerve runs between the brain and the abdomen. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a surgical procedure in which a small generator is placed under the skin on the left side of the chest. A surgeon makes a second incision in the neck and connects a wire from the generator to the vagus nerve. A doctor programs the generator to send mild electrical pulses at regular intervals. These pulses stimulate the vagus nerve.