Migraine Relief: What Helps, What Doesn’t, and What’s New

Maria A. Vera Silva, M.D., is a neurologist at Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute specializing in the treatment of neuro-ophthalmic conditions, including disorders affecting the optic nerve, eye movement and pupil function. She helps patients manage visual symptoms caused by systemic diseases, intracranial pathologies and neurodegenerative disorders. She also addresses double vision, migraines and idiopathic intracranial hypertension. 

Dr. Vera Silva earned her medical degree at the University of Carabobo in Valencia, Venezuela. She served as chief resident during an ophthalmology residency at IVSS Hospital Miguel Perez Carreño in Caracas, Venezuela. She went on to complete a neurology residency and serve as chief neurology resident at Cleveland Clinic Florida. Her advanced training also includes a neuro-ophthalmology fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Health System.  

To provide the very best care, Dr. Vera Silva employs a patient-centered, comprehensive and compassionate approach. She prioritizes her patients’ needs, concerns and preferences and ensures they are actively involved in their care decisions. In addition to treating specific neuro-ophthalmic conditions, she integrates care with other medical specialties, as needed, to address her patients’ overall health and well-being. She also provides compassionate and empathetic care, recognizing the emotional and psychological impact of visual and neurological disorders on her patients.

Dr. Vera Silva is fluent in English, Spanish and Spanish-Creole. She loves animals and spending time at the beach. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and running.

Andrew Forster, M.D., is an internal medicine physician with Baptist Health Primary Care and a member of Baptist Health Medical Group, an organization of more than 180 physicians in multiple specialties integrated within Baptist Health South Florida.

He specializes in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of health issues, including simple and complex health concerns, chronic disease management, minor emergencies, urgent care and the coordination of care with specialists. A native of Liverpool, England, Dr. Forster received his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. Before attending medical school, he earned a Master of Public Health and a Master of Arts in Latin American Studies from the University of California Los Angeles. He completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida.

Dr. Forster previously worked in the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, teaching in the hospital’s Internal Medicine Residency Program in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. He is Board-certified in internal medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.