Forehead Lift, A Cure For a Migraine?

Recently, a rather abbreviated research study into the efficacy of surgical forehead lifts to block migraine headaches was shared with the public.

At this point, I am skeptical as to whether this remains a practical cosmetic solution for a functional and neurological problem.

Yes, there has been some evidence that Botox may be helpful for some migraine headaches, because it relaxes the forehead muscles. We also know that any surgical procedure in which the forehead muscles are detached from the underlying skull will temporarily cause insensitivity and weakness for those muscle groups. That might explain the observation that "the Botox helped the migraine."

The answer will come with time and observation. Over a period of many years, will the patients who claim to have relief from migraines find relief from the one-time surgical procedure?

Migraine headaches have had a long and often poorly understood history. For many years, it was thought that migraine headaches were related to dilatation of blood vessels in the head and for that reason, certain medications that tend to constrict the blood flow by lessening the diameter of the blood vessels were used. There are other types of medications also. But interestingly, as noted above, Botox seemed to have a salutary effect for many patients raising the issue as to whether or not the real culprit all along was muscle contraction and not dilatation of blood vessels.

— Robert Kotler, MD, FACS