Elliot Shevel

Elliot Shevel
Ankapobeny
Anarana	Elliot Shevel
Teraka	3 Janoary 1943
Fiaviana sy ny andraikitra
Asa :	mpitsabo nify
Fiainana manokana

Elliot Shevel is a South African maxillo-facial and oral surgeon. He is widely recognised for his contributions to the field of headaches and migraines. Shevel currently serves as the Medical Director at The Headache Clinic, a medical facility he founded. His extensive medical background and pioneering research have earned him a reputation as an authority in the field.^[1.]

Jereo koa

• Biôgrafia

Personal Life and Education

Shevel was born in South Africa on 3 January 1943. He pursued his education at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, receiving a B.D.S. degree in 1967, followed by a Dip. M.F.O.S. in 1972, and an M.B., B.Ch. in 1977.^[2]

He is fluent in English and Afrikaans, and possesses a working knowledge of various languages, including Setswana, Sesotho, Zulu, Hebrew, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Swahili, and Mandarin.

Career

Shevel has maintained a private practice as a maxillo-facial and oral surgeon since 1973, with a particular focus on pain in the craniomandibular and craniocervical regions.^{[3] Shevel was suspended by the Health Professions Council of South Africa after the deaths of two patients.}

In 1992, he founded The Headache Clinic in South Africa, which has since established branches in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. This multidisciplinary practice specialises in diagnosing and treating migraines and other primary headaches.

Throughout his career, Shevel has achieved significant milestones. In 1999, he was honoured as a Fellow at the International College of Craniomandibular Orthopaedics. From 2005 to 2014, he served as the National Councillor of the South African Dental Association. Additionally, he chairs the South African Affiliate of The International Headache Society and contributes his expertise to Health24 as a headache specialist. Shevel holds memberships in esteemed organisations such as the American Headache Society, International Headache Society, and the European Headache Federation.

Contributions and Approaches

Dr. Shevel's interdisciplinary medical and dental background has played a pivotal role in his approach to addressing headaches and migraines.

In a chapter in the book Essentials of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, he challenged conventional diagnostic practices, advocating for the identification of pain sources rather than merely addressing presenting symptoms.^[4] This perspective led to Shevel developing non-drug treatments that offer patients long-term relief from headaches while reducing reliance on pain medications, antidepressants, and sleeping pills.

Notable among his innovations is the Posture Modifying Appliance (PMA). This specialised plate is designed to alleviate headaches caused by muscle tension, correcting and relaxing the jaw posture to its natural rest position.^[5] Additionally, Shevel introduced a minimally invasive arterial procedure aimed at cauterising painful arteries and treating dilating arteries in the scalp that contribute to headache pain.^[6]

Shevel has conducted medical research and authored publications on migraine treatment with Harvard University professor of neurology Egilius Spierings. In 2015, the duo appeared in a televised interview with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to discuss the limitations of the official migraine classification and its consequences for patients.

During September 2024 he was suspended by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) pending a formal inquiry and investigation into the deaths of two patients.[1]

Publications

Shevel has contributed extensively to scientific literature, with more than thirty scientific studies published in national and international peer-reviewed medical journals. Notable publications include:

"TRPV1, CGRP, and SP in scalp arteries of patients suffering from chronic migraine" - J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2015; 86: 393-7.

"Arterial surgery for sporadic hemiplegic migraine: preliminary results" - British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 52 (2014) 405–408.

"The international headache society classification of migraine headache—A call for substantiating data" - J. Biomedical Science and Engineering, 2014, 7, 112-114.

"The Vasodilatory Activity of CGRP” - Headache - 2014, 747.

"A new minimally invasive technique for cauterising the maxillary artery and its application in the treatment of cluster headache" - J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2013 Apr;71(4):677-81.

"The dura and migraine" - Future Neurology 2012; 7: 573-580.

Lectures

Shevel has shared his expertise through presentations at international conferences, including:

• XI International Conference on Maxillo-facial and Oral Surgery – Buenos Aires 1992.
• X Congress of the International Headache Society – Rome 2003.
• 7th Headache Congress of the European Headache Federation– Rotterdam 2004.
• VI World Congress on Controversies in Neurology – Vienna 2012.

Podcast

Shevel hosts a podcast series on headaches and migraines, which is available on his official website.

References

1. “Dr Elliot Shevel part of leading team at first ever Migraine World Summit.” News24. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
2. “Role of the Extracranial Arteries in Migraine Headache: A Review” Taylor & Francis Online. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
3. “Holiday time, headache time.” News24. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
4. “Oral and Maxillo-Facial Surgeons and Migraine.” Essentials of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
5. “Could grinding your teeth cause headaches?” News24. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
6. “Vascular surgery for chronic migraine.” Research Gate. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
7. Ao amin'i Freebase: [2] Archived Mey 1, 2016 at the Wayback Machine