Therapeutic, III.

Occipital artery resection significantly lowered the success of occipital migraine headache surgery. Greater occipital nerve decompression alone, without ligation of the occipital artery, significantly improved or eliminated occipital migraine headache in most patients. This suggests that routine removal of the occipital artery or its branches may not be necessary.

Findings from this cadaver study provide information relevant to the operative localization of potential compression points along the auriculotemporal nerve.