Greater Occipital Nerve Neuralgia Caused by Pathological Arterial Contact: Treatment by Surgical Decompression

Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain; Article first published online: 16 NOV 2010

DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2010.01802.x

1. Christiane Cornely MD, 
2. Marius Fischer MD,
3. Giulio Ingianni MD, 
4. Stefan Isenmann MD

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.