Current Evidence in Migraine Surgery: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION Migraine headache is a widespread neurovascular disorder with an enormous social and economic impact. A subgroup of patients cannot be managed with pharmacological therapy. Although surgical decompression of extracranial sensory nerves has been proposed as a valid alternative treatment option, the medical community remains reluctant to accept it. MATERIALS AND METHODS This systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. An electronic search was performed in September 2020 on PubMed, ScienceDirect, CENTRAL, and Google Scholar databases for original articles reporting outcomes on migraine surgery. RESULTS The search strategy revealed a total of 922 studies, of which 52 were included in the review. Significant improvement was reported in 58.3% to 100% and complete elimination in 8.3% to 86.8% of patients across studies. No major complications were reported. DISCUSSION This systematic review demonstrates that migraine surgery is an effective and safe procedure, with a positive impact in patients' quality of life and a reduction in long-term costs. CONCLUSION There is considerable scientific evidence suggesting extracranial migraine surgery is an effective and safe procedure. This surgery should be considered in properly selected migraineurs refractory to medical treatment.