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Surgical and Non-Surgical Options to Treat Migraine Headaches

While migraine is a common condition, only those who go through can understand how painful and frustrating it can really be. From dread-inducing vision problems to crippling pain, the symptoms of a migraine are enough to disrupt your peace and affect your quality of life.

Fortunately, medical advancements now allow you to benefit from multiple ways to treat migraine with long-lasting results. Whether you want to go with a surgical approach or a non-surgical option, these treatments allow you to effectively reduce your migraine headaches to improve your wellbeing.

Our team of board-certified surgeons and physicians at UCI Plastic Surgery offer multiple options for migraine treatment in Orange County, CA. To help you learn more about these treatments, here is a quick overview of these procedures.

What is Migraine?

Migraine is a neurological disease that causes pulsing and throbbing headaches that typically occur on one side of the head. The intensity of these headaches can vary and sometimes gets so painful that it may render you unable to perform daily functions. Along with these headaches, migraines also cause other symptoms such as nausea, gastrointestinal problems, fatigue, as well as sensitivity to light and sound. Some patients may also have migraines with aura, which comes with additional issues such as vision loss and sensory problems.

Migraine headaches can be effectively treated with the help of a medical professional. For some patients, medications can work wonders. For others, lifestyle changes may go a long way. But in many cases, these approaches may deliver ineffective results. That is where you can turn to more long-lasting approaches to treat migraines.

Different Ways to Treat Migraine: Surgical and Non-Surgical Options

If medications and lifestyle changes do not provide you with the level of results that you need, your physician may suggest other options to help you find relief from migraine. This includes the following approaches.

Migraine Surgery

A migraine surgery is a surgical procedure that helps you lower the intensity as well as occurrence of migraine headaches. This procedure aims to release the pressure on your sensory nerves and vessels that may lead to the symptoms of migraine.

During this procedure, your surgeon may perform various surgical techniques to help take off the pressure from your nerves and blood vessels. This may include small incisions in your eyelid crease, behind your temples, and inside the nose to alleviate pressure and reduce the painful symptoms of migraine.

After the surgery, around 70-95% may find significant reduction in the frequency and intensity of their migraine headaches. Half of these patients report finding permanent relief from migraines.

The surgery is performed after a series of assessments to make sure that your surgeon only targets those areas that are the biggest contributors to your migraine. When performed by a board-certified surgeon, the procedure also remains safe and lowers the chances of complications. This makes it one of the most popular ways to treat migraine.

Botox Injections

When used in injectable treatments, neurotoxins such as Botox can block your nerve signals to the brain. While Botox is synonymous with wrinkle reduction, it also remains highly effective in treating migraine. When the nerves that trigger migraine headaches are blocked from communicating signals of pain, you can feel a significant reduction in the intensity of your migraine.

Botox is FDA-cleared for migraine relief, which establishes the treatment as a safe approach and heightens your trust in its results. Since it is used as an injectable, it remains minimally invasive and requires no downtime. This allows you to get back to your daily activities right after your treatment.

Botox for migraine relief is highly effective at reducing the occurrence of migraine headaches. The effects of a single treatment can last for up to 3 months. Patients who go through two treatment sessions can experience up to 50% less migraine headaches. You can also continue receiving these treatments for as long as you like. This efficacy and flexibility makes Botox one of the most popular ways to treat migraine.

UCI Plastic Surgery Helps You Find Effective Migraine Treatments in Orange County, CA

To see how different migraine relief options can help you obtain long-lasting results, contact us for a personalized consultation with a board-certified physician today. You can hold your consultation at one of our in Orange; Tustin; Costa Mesa; Yorba Linda; and Newport Beach, Orange County, CA.