Papers of the Week

Occipital neuralgia is a painful condition that is believed to occur from processes that affect the greater, lesser, or third occipital nerves. Diagnosis is often made with a combination of classical symptoms, tenderness over the occipital region, and response to occipital nerve blocks. Cervical computed tomography or MRI may be obtained in multiple positions to detect any impingement. Diagnosis can be made with MRI tractography. Nonsurgical treatments include local anesthetic and steroid injections, anticonvulsant medications, botulinum toxin injections, physical therapy, acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical stimulation, cryoneurolysis, and radiofrequency ablation. Surgical treatments include greater occipital nerve decompression, C2 root section, intradural dorsal root rhizotomy, C1-2 fusion, and occipital nerve stimulation. Although stimulation has been favored in the past decade, complications and maintenance of the devices have led us to return to C2 ganglionectomy.