Making friends with occipital neuralgia can be quite burdensome. The pain typically begins from the back of the head, and most often than not, it is intolerable thus hindering normal day-to-day activities. If you are contemplating with surgery for occipital neuralgia, knowing the pros and cons of the procedure will help greatly in your quest for relief.
Secondary occipital neuralgia is performed usually when all other forms of treatment including medication and occipital nerve injections have failed. This is centers on those painful neck area nerves which are at the lower end of the skull which in today’s day and age are the main originators of pain. Thus surgery can help in reducing or even eliminating pain since it takes away that particular pressure.
This is what will happen to you: Before your operation your surgeon will explain the risks and benefits of the operation to decide if such intervention is appropriate for you. Like any modalities of treatment that involve a surgical procedure, one has to undergo one of the decompression of the nerve or in some cases, excision of a part of the nerve located in the sick area to control or relieve the symptoms. These operations have also helped many patients. This is done under general anaesthesia, and the procedure typically lasts around two hours.
Healing is such an easy task with the right treatment given. Most of the people will be happy in few weeks while some will take longer. Some of the measures that will be provided include ice packs, requesting pain medicines, rest from strenuous activities, and how to deal with the discomfort that comes after surgery.
Weighing the option of surgery to treat occipital neuralgia is a very subjective matter. Consult your doctors, weigh the pros and cons, but most importantly, hear yourself. That type of support will enable you to handle and adapt your lifestyle once again.
