What is TEMMA®?

In Plain Terms

A one-time procedure. Not another medication.

TTargeted

EEmbolization

MMigraine

MaManagement

TEMMA® — Targeted Embolization for Migraine Management — is a one-time, minimally invasive procedure for severe migraine. It is not a daily medication. It is not a series of injections. It is a single outpatient procedure on a blood vessel linked to migraine pain.

A fellowship-trained neurointerventional specialist threads a hair-thin microcatheter from a small puncture at the wrist or groin up to the middle meningeal artery (MMA) — the blood vessel that feeds the membrane linked to migraine pain. A tiny platinum coil is placed to greatly decrease blood flow to the dura — the membrane surrounding the brain. The embolization takes 40 minutes. Both sides are typically treated in a single session. You go home the same day — drug-free.

The same approach has been used in neurointerventional medicine for decades. Applied to the migraine pathway, it is showing very positive results in early studies for the treatment of migraine.

How It Works

The mechanism, in three steps.

The entire procedure is built around one small artery. Here is why that works.

Illustration sequence: a microcatheter approaches the artery, a soft platinum coil deploys, and the coil mass seals the vessel

One artery feeds the pain

A small artery inside the skull, the middle meningeal artery (MMA), supplies the dura — the brain’s pain-sensitive outer lining.

In migraine, it turns on

In migraine, the MMA dilates and the dura becomes inflamed, triggering the pain cascade that medications try — and often fail — to control.

Embolization turns it off

Embolization greatly decreases blood flow to the dura, smothering the inflammatory cascade. The procedure takes 40 minutes. You go home the same day — drug-free.

Why Drug-Free Is Different

No daily pills. No injection cycles. One procedure.

Every other preventive option asks you to keep going — refills, appointments, cycles that start over. TEMMA® is different by design.

No daily pills

TEMMA® is a procedure, not a medication. There are no prescriptions to fill, no refills to remember, and no daily side effects to manage.

No 12-week injection cycles

Injectable preventives mean office visits every 12 weeks, indefinitely. TEMMA® is not a cycle. It does not fade at the end of a dosing schedule.

One procedure, not ongoing treatment

A tiny platinum coil closes the artery, and it stays closed. There is nothing to restart, refill, or repeat.

Lasting relief

Published follow-up shows sustained relief at 6–12 months and beyond. Relief you don’t have to re-earn every month.

The Predictive Test

Before anything permanent, we can predict if it will work for you.

First comes a short, same-day test — not the procedure. We deliver a small amount of lidocaine, a common numbing medicine, to the MMA. If your migraine quiets in the days that follow, the pathway is confirmed and TEMMA® is very likely to help. If it does not, we stop. Nothing permanent has happened.

A physician reviewing brain imaging to confirm the treatment pathway

The test is the safety net

About 3 in 4 patients test positive. In the published studies, roughly 9 in 10 treated patients improve. If your test is positive, the procedure is scheduled for a separate visit. If it is negative, we stop — you never commit without strong evidence it will work for you.

See how the test works →

The Evidence

What the published studies show.

Across peer-reviewed series of patients treated with MMA embolization for migraine and severe headache:

Pain score (VAS)

8–100

immediately after the first published series (n=4)

Migraine impact (HIT-6)

−30.5

points on average, sustained at 6 months (n=10)

Safety

Zero

serious complications across published studies

See all the published evidence →

Find out if TEMMA® could work for you

A consultation is a simple, no-pressure visit. We review your history and answer every question before anything is scheduled.

Request a Consultation Call (833) 4-CORTEX