Surgery for Chronic Pain

When pain no longer responds to medication and other care, targeted neurosurgery can help. Start by finding your type of pain below, each links to what it is, when surgery is considered, and how it can help.

Find your pain ↓
Conditions

Find your type of pain

Select the condition that fits best. Each page explains it in plain language and describes the surgical options that can help when other treatments have not.

Trigeminal Neuralgia
Sudden, electric-shock facial pain, often from a blood vessel pressing on the nerve.
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Glossopharyngeal & Other Cranial Neuralgias
Throat, ear, or deep facial pain from the glossopharyngeal, geniculate, or laryngeal nerves.
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Occipital Neuralgia
Sharp, shooting pain from the back of the head up the scalp, along the occipital nerves.
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Failed Back Surgery Syndrome
Persistent back or leg pain that continues or returns after spine surgery.
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Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Severe, burning limb pain with swelling and color or temperature change, often after an injury.
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Neuropathic & Nerve-Injury Pain
Burning, tingling, or shooting pain from damaged nerves, diabetic, post-surgical, or radicular.
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Postherpetic & Deafferentation Pain
Pain after shingles, after amputation (phantom limb), or after nerve-root avulsion.
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Cancer & Intractable Pain
Severe pain that no longer responds to high-dose medication, including cancer pain.
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How it works

How pain surgery is approached

Pain is carried from the body to the brain along a chain of nerves and pathways. Surgery acts at a precise point on that chain, relieving a clear cause, reshaping the pain signal with an adjustable device, or interrupting the pathway when other options are exhausted.

Medication first
Surgery is considered only after appropriate medication and non-surgical care have been tried. The right operation depends on the cause and pattern of the pain.
Reversible before permanent
Where possible, an adjustable, reversible device (often trialed first) is used before any permanent procedure. You can experience the relief before committing.
A team decision
The choice is made with pain medicine, neurology, and neurosurgery together, matched to your specific diagnosis, goals, and circumstances.

About

Who wrote this site

Ahmet Fatih Atik, MD is a neurosurgeon focused on stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, including the surgical treatment of chronic pain, neuromodulation, treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, intrathecal drug delivery, and targeted lesioning. This site is an independent educational resource and is not, by itself, medical advice.


Consultation

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