Headache and the lower cervical spine: long-term, postoperative follow-up after decompressive neck surgery.

A retrospective search for headache sufferers was conducted among patients operated on for cervicobrachialgia, and the operative results were evaluated. We also tried to classify the preoperative headache according to current headache classification systems. A total of 187 patients were operated on with Smith-Robinson's method, or by "simple" foraminectomy/ facetectomy.