Facial surgery that targets and removes small portions of migraine-triggering muscle or nerve tissue may offer permanent relief for some people with the debilitating headaches , a new study suggests . More than 30 million Americans experience migraine headaches . `` Other migraine treatments either temporarily prevent the symptoms or they may reduce the symptoms after the migraine headaches start , '' says Bahman Guyuron , M.D. , a professor and the chair of the department of plastic surgery at the University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University . `` What we are offering is essentially a cure . '' In a study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery , Guyuron and colleagues looked for people who had migraines that started in a specific region on the front , side , or back of the head . The researchers injected Botox into these trigger points to temporarily paralyze the muscle ; if the injections helped relieve the migraines , the patients were randomly divided into two surgical groups . After the Botox wore off , one group had a face-lifting surgery combined with the removal of muscle tissue or nerves in the area that triggered the migraines . Fat or muscle was used to fill in the area after tissue was removed . Health.com : Quiz -- Surprising migraine causes and cures . The second group had a sham procedure , in which incisions were made but all muscles and nerves remained intact . A total of 75 patients were involved in the study . In the year after the procedure , 57 percent of those who had the actual surgery reported the complete elimination of migraine headaches , compared with just 4 percent in the sham surgery group . In addition , 84 percent of those who had the surgery reported at least a 50 percent reduction in migraine pain compared with just 58 percent in the sham group . Health.com : Secrets to a stress-free home . As for side effects , one surgery patient had persistent numbness of the forehead , and 10 of 19 patients who had the procedure on the side of the head had a slight but persistent hollowing in their temple region . More than 30 million Americans experience migraine headaches . However , Robert Kunkel , M.D. , a consultant at the department of neurology at the Cleveland Clinic , says this surgery probably wo n't become a common procedure , despite the results . Health.com : Knowing your mother 's health history can lower your risks . `` This may be a technique that will help a small number of migraine patients who have responded to Botox , but it 's certainly not a procedure for generally treating migraines , '' says Kunkel , who was not involved in the new study . He points out that people who had the sham surgery probably suspected that they were in the placebo group , since the face-lift would most likely have reduced wrinkling . If a treatment is n't completely blinded , it can skew a study 's results ; if patients suspect they 've had a sham treatment , they may be less likely to say their migraines are cured . However , nearly 60 percent of the people who had the sham procedure reported some migraine relief too . Guyuron believes this could be related to a placebo effect , or the incisions could have disturbed some of the nerve branches and actually relieved migraines in some way . Health.com : 20 little ways to drop the pounds and keep them off . Overall , there was a 92 percent success rate , notes Guyuron . `` This study offers powerful evidence to the plastic surgeon , the neurologist , and the insurance companies that this operation is effective , '' he says . `` Not only are they headache free , depending on the trigger site , but they also may look younger . '' The Migraine Foundation , the Plastic Surgery Education Fund , and the Prentiss Foundation funded this study . Some of the study coauthors have consulted for Allergan or have been paid speakers for pharmaceutical companies . Enter to win a monthly Room Makeover Giveaway from MyHomeIdeas.com . Copyright Health Magazine 2009 .
Migraine patients who responded to Botox on a trigger point were enrolled in surgery . They were given real surgery to deactivate trigger point or sham ##ing . 80 percent of patients who had actual surgery said migraines were eliminated . Some patients who got real surgery reported this as well .