Cranial Disorders
There are many causes for pain affecting the head and face. In general, headaches and migraines have treatments that require only medication. However, there are some types of severe head and facial pains that are resistant to medication and respond well only to surgical treatments.
Occipital headaches, particularly those arising after a motor vehicle accident or other trauma, can be due to pinched nerves at the back of the skull. Intermittent severe headaches, made worse by looking up and spreading into the shoulders may be caused by pressure at the base of the skull — Foramen Magnum Syndrome (Arnold chiari Type I), while severe intermittent facial pains are often due to Trigeminal Neuralgia (Tic Doloreux) in which a small artery near the brain is irritating the nerve for the face. Treatments for these conditions can include injections or surgery that offer the only means of controlling or ending the pain.
The treatment for occipital neuralgia headaches has been transformed by Dr. Aaron Filler into a simple outpatient procedure than can permanently relieve severe pains. Use of advanced imaging techniques, including Open MRI, has helped Dr. Filler design new safer, more accurate treatments for several types of cranial pain disorders.
Dr. Aaron Filler is the world’s leading expert in treatment of nerve pain. He has revolutionized nerve-pain treatment by inventing several new technologies. One such technology, MR Neurography, enables doctors to use an MRI scanner to examine nerves — previously a difficult-to-impossible tissue to see through MR imaging. Dr. Filler's research in axonal transport is leading to a whole new generation of advanced pain medications. He has developed many new “minimal access” surgery methods that allow him to treat complex nerve problems with small outpatient surgeries. He has also pioneered the use of the Open MRI scanner to do surgeries and other therapies with the ultra-high precision and safety of the magnetic resonance imaging. 
Do You Really Need Back Surgery? by Dr. Aaron G. Filler, MD PhD, is a best-selling paperback every sufferer of spine and nerve pain should read. Written in everyday language, the book is a must-read.