Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery…In Brief
August 2009
Got Migraines?
New Study Proves Forehead Lifts Can Erase Years and Headaches
Migraine headaches are a drain - not only on the estimated 30 million Americans who suffer from them, but on the economy, too. Because pain and other symptoms caused by migraine headaches can be quite severe, it is projected that nearly $13 billion is spent every year in headache treatment and loss of time from work, which no one can afford these days. But according to a new study, there is hope for severe and frequent migraine sufferers who can't find relief in conventional remedies.
In this double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial, researchers (including a plastic surgeon and two neurologists) from Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, identified the three most common trigger sites and then randomly assigned 75 patients to either the actual (49 patients) or sham-surgery groups (26 patients). Patients then completed questionnaires and underwent either a real or perceived deactivation operation on their predominant migraine trigger site, which for most patients, was similar to that of a traditional forehead lift.
Researchers found that 57 percent of the patients in the actual surgery group reported complete elimination of migraine headaches, compared with only 4 percent in the sham surgery group. Furthermore, 83 percent of the actual surgery group observed at least a 50 percent reduction in migraines. Researchers conclude that surgical treatment of migraine headaches is safe, effective, and that this reasonably short operation can have a colossal impact on the patients' quality of life - all while eliminating signs of aging for some patients, too. This study appears in the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
