Does Occipital Knob Reduction Relieve Headaches?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’ve had this large bump on the back of my head y for as long as I can remember.  I think they call it an occipital knob. I would like it removed. I have many questions about the procedure. Here they are

1. How do I get an appointment with you? 

2. Is there a hospital stay for this surgery or is it same day surgery?

3. Have you found that insurance willpay for the operation?

4. Is this skull deformity a common problem?

5. How soon would an operation be scheduled?

I’m very excited about finding a doctor who can help me feel better and not have any more headaches.

A: In answer to your occipital knob reduction questions:

1) We can talk by phone or Skype as soon as you would like

2) This is an outpatient procedure that takes one hour to complete under general anesthesia.

3) This would not be an insurance covered procedure to my knowledge.

4) I can not speak for exactly how common it is but I suspect it occurs in about 1:1000 people.

5) Since it is a relatively short operation, it can be scheduled fairly quickly.

You made an interesting statement about relief of headaches. I am not aware that an occipital knob reduction does relieve headaches although I can see how that might occur. There are tight muscle and fascial attachments at the base of the occipital knob and release of these may provide relief of some occipital-based headaches.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana