Morphologic vascular anomalies detected during migraine surgery.

Although there is increasing evidence of migraine headaches having extracranial origins, the exact mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of surgically treated migraines continue to be poorly investigated and described. We studied the microscopic and ultrastructural characteristics of superficial temporal artery (STA) and occipital (OA) artery in the auriculotemporal and great occipital trigger points of migraine patients to determine their possible role in migraine etiopathogenesis. Fifteen biopsies, 10 of STA and 5 from OAs, were collected intraoperatively during migraine surgery and immediately processed for optical and ultramicroscopic analysis.