Modified skin incision for avoiding the lesser occipital nerve and occipital artery during retrosigmoid craniotomy: potential applications for enhancing operative working distance and angles while minimizing the risk of postoperative neuralgias and intraoperative hemorrhage

Highlights • Chronic postoperative neuralgias and headache following retrosigmoid craniotomy can be uncomfortable. • Heads were dissected to see the relationship between the lesser occipital nerve and traditional linear vs. modified U incisions. • The U incision is superior for avoiding superficial neural injury of the main trunk.