Arterial surgery for sporadic hemiplegic migraine: preliminary results.

My aim was to report for the first time (to my knowledge) the successful treatment of 3 patients with sporadic hemiplegic migraine by surgical cautery of terminal branches of the external carotid artery under conscious sedation. Since the operations (between 1 and 2 years) none of the patients have had further attacks of migraine or hemiplegia. This preliminary report suggests that for patients with sporadic hemiplegic migraine with a confirmed arterial component, surgical cautery of selected terminal branches of the external carotid artery may be effective treatment.