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Positional cluster-like headache. A case report of a neurovascular compression between the third cervical root and
Christelle Créac'h1, Robert Duthel, Fabrice Barral
1Université Lyon 1, France. christelle.creach@univ-st-etienne.fr
Abstract:
Symptomatic cluster-like headaches have been described with lesions of the trigeminal and parasympathetic systems. Here, we report the case of a 44-year-old woman with continuous auricular pain and a positional cluster-like headache associated with red ear syndrome. Clinical data and morphological investigations raised the hypothesis of a neurovascular compression between the C3 root and vertebral artery. Neurosurgical exploration found a fibrosis surrounding both the C3 root and the vertebral artery. The excellent outcome after microvascular cervical decompression suggests a causal relationship between the cluster-like headache and the vertebral constraint on the C3 root.
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