Radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the sphenopalatine ganglion in the treatment of chronic paroxysmal hemicrania: letter to editor
serdar kokar1
, Ozgur Emre Polat2, Yucel Olgun1, Savas Sencan1, Osman Hakan Gunduz1
1Marmara University School Of Medicine, Department Of Pain Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
2Si̇sli Memorial Hospital, Department Of Pain Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
Keywords: Paroxysmal hemicrania, trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia, sphenopalatine ganglion, radiofrequency ablation
Abstract
Paroxysmal Hemicrania is a primary headache disorder that is a member of Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgias. This letter to editor presents, for the first time in the literature, radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the sphenopalatine ganglion in the treatment of chronic paroxysmal hemicrania. A 48-year-old female patient with a complaint of severe unilateral headache that had been continuing for nearly twenty-five years was diagnosed with chronic paroxysmal hemicrania. The patient had used different kinds of oral medical treatments. Interventional procedures such as greater occipital nerve block, and gasser ganglion radiofrequency ablation had also been applied. The patient had not got any benefit from those treatments. Consequently, radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the left sphenopalatine ganglion was performed. Achieving success in radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the sphenopalatine ganglion in a patient for whom all treatment options were unresponsive, suggests that physicians should take this interventional treatment option into account for chronic paroxysmal hemicrania.
CITE:kokar, S., Polat, O. E., Olgun, Y., Sencan, S., & Gunduz, O. H. (2026). Radiofrequency thermocoagulation of the sphenopalatine ganglion in the treatment of chronic paroxysmal hemicrania: letter to editor. Ağrı, 38(2), 0-0. https://doi.org/.