CHRONIC HEADACHES

 

Current estimates place the number of migraine sufferers in the United States at over 28 million! Sadly, this number does not take into account those who suffer from other types of headaches such as cluster headaches and tension headaches. Recently, an outpatient procedure has been described which has been shown in numerous patients to significantly reduce the frequency, severity and/or duration of migraine headaches and in some cases, to eliminate them permanently.



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NEUROPATHY

 

Conventional wisdom states that peripheral neuropathy is progressive and irreversible. However, this dictum may not always be true. In many cases, the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy may be due in part to a pinched nerve in the leg, foot, arm, forearm or hand. If you or one of those patients, then an outpatient surgical procedure to "un-pinch" those nerves may be effective in reducing or even eliminating the pain, tingling and numbness often associated with neuropathy secondary to diabetes, hypothyroidism, exposure to chemotherapy and other conditions.


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CHRONIC PAIN FOLLOWING SURGERY


There are literally millions of surgical procedures performed in the United States each year and while most of them are successful, there is a small, but significant number of patients who end up with debilitating pain. Similar symptoms can also result from accidents such as falls, motor vehicle crashes, firearm injuries and sports-related injuries. Luckily, many of these cases are attributable to injury of one or more peripheral nerves often be treated with a significant reduction in pain. 


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People often ask me, 'How did you get involved with peripheral nerve surgery after a plastic surgery residency at Harvard?' The answer comes in two parts.  First, many people don't realize that plastic surgical training involves work with many types of soft tissues including, skin, muscle, fat, bone and yes, nerves.  We would often get called upon to re-attach limbs that had been amputated in accidents and as part of those procedures we would repair the injured nerves in order to restore function and sensation.  Secondly, in deciding what type of surgeon I would become and what I would do following my training, I happened upon a colleague and friend who was doing some interesting surgical work with patients suffering from diabetic neuropathy.  I spent some time with him and did several operations with him during my Chief Residency year and after that experience, knew that I had found what I would ultimately do with my life.  After a whole additional year of training focusing on and learning how to operate on peripheral nerves, I landed in the Bay Area and knew I had found my new home. 

Given my passion for peripheral nerve surgery, I expanded my practice to include chronic headache patients, many of whom suffer from nerve compression very similar to that which I have been treating for several years.  I now have several hundred peripheral nerve operations under my belt. My results with chronic headaches have mirrored those which I have seen with my other nerve patients and have validated my career decision.  I genuinely feel that I make positive and substantive changes in peoples lives on a daily basis and this feeling is the reason I became a physician in the first place.  My nerve patients are consistently amongst my most grateful and the satisfaction which comes from their improvement is impossible to put into words. I truly hope that other physicians feel as I do almost every day and hope to be able to continue this work with you and many other patients for years to come.

 

WELCOME!

 

Sincerely,

Ziv M. Peled, MD