Cluster headache is a primary headache disorder, which has affected up to 0.1% population. Superficial temporal artery ligation combined with auriculotemporal nerve transection (SLAT) is one of the surgical alternatives to treat the drug-resistant temporal cluster headache (TCH). The current work aimed to assess the effect of SLAT on TCH patients based on the very long-term clinical follow-up.
The current retrospective study had enrolled 20 adolescent TCH patients undergoing SLAT between December 2016 and January 2018. The headache diaries as well as the pain severity questionnaire of the visual analog scale (VAS) had been collected to measure the pain severity before and after surgery.
The pain-free rates 3 days, as well as 1, 6, and 12 months, after SLAT surgery were 2.00%, 10.00%, 25.00%, and 70.00%, respectively. The frequency of TCH attack daily was found to be markedly reduced on the whole; besides, the pain degree was also remarkably decreased.
Results in this study indicate that the sustained headache can be relieved after SLAT in adolescent patients with intractable TCH.