Greater occipital nerve neuralgia caused by pathological arterial contact: treatment by surgical decompression

Christiane Cornely; Marius Fischer; Giulio Ingianni; Stefan Isenmann

doi:10.1111/j.1526-4610.2010.01802.x

Greater occipital nerve neuralgia caused by pathological arterial contact: treatment by surgical decompression

Headache. 2011 Apr;51(4):609-12. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2010.01802.x. Epub 2010 Nov 16.

Authors

Christiane Cornely¹, Marius Fischer, Giulio Ingianni, Stefan Isenmann

Affiliation

¹ Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, HELIOS Klinikum Wuppertal, University of Witten/Herdecke, Wuppertal, Germany.

PMID: 21457245
DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2010.01802.x

Abstract

Occipital nerve neuralgia is a rare cause of severe headache, and may be difficult to treat. We report the case of a patient with occipital nerve neuralgia caused by pathological contact of the nerve with the occipital artery. The pain was refractory to medical treatment. Surgical decompression yielded complete remission.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Aged
Decompression, Surgical / methods
Female
Headache Disorders / etiology
Headache Disorders / physiopathology*
Humans
Nerve Compression Syndromes / etiology*
Nerve Compression Syndromes / pathology*
Nerve Compression Syndromes / physiopathology
Neuralgia / etiology
Neuralgia / physiopathology*
Peripheral Nerve Injuries / complications
Peripheral Nerve Injuries / pathology
Peripheral Nerve Injuries / physiopathology
Treatment Outcome
Vascular Diseases / complications
Vascular Diseases / pathology*
Vascular Diseases / physiopathology