The impact of head injury varies from transient loss of consciousness to coma and death. It can be associated with facial injuries and injury to the other organs. Most common symptoms are transient loss of consciousness Karim Rekik Netherland Jersey , vomiting, seizures, giddiness, loss of consciousness. Sometimes if the injury occurs in the vital parts of the brain Joel Veltman Netherland Jersey , it can result in weakness of the limbs, hearing loss and vision loss, coma and death.
Head injury and its symptoms are because of the movement of brain inside the skull bone. The cerebrospinal fluid acts as a cushion and protects the brain from shock. Transiently brain stops to function, and it thereby causes loss of consciousness Jetro Willems Netherland Jersey , memory loss, giddiness and vomiting.
Major types of head injury are Hematoma, Hemorrhage, Concussion Jeroen Zoet Netherland Jersey , cerebral edema, Skull fracture, Diffuse axonal injury.
Head injury may cause blood clots in the brain. There are various types of blood clots in the brain.
It is an accumulation of blood between the inner table of skull and striped off dural membrane. It occurs following traumatic head injury and is often associated with skull fracture and arterial laceration. The blood vessel in proximity to the fracture is the source of blood. It is more common in young individuals because the membrane covering the brain is not as closely attached to the skull as in older people and in children younger than 2 years. It does not cause much damage to the underlying brain, and so the prognosis is excellent when treated early and aggressively. The requirement of surgery is based on the patient鈥檚 neurological condition.
2. Acute Subdural hematoma
It is a serious condition where in Blood collects between the skull and surface of brain. It occurs due to rupture of blood vessel and the clot may cause pressure on the brain. It occurs usually following a severe head injury. It can occur following a minor injury when the age of the patient is above 60 years or when the patient is on blood thinning medication for associated medical condition or with alcohol abuse. The surgical technique in the management of subdural hematoma are
Craniotomy Burr hole Brain Contusion It is a bruise of the brain tissue. Just like bruises that occur on other parts of the body Jeremain Lens Netherland Jersey , a brain contusion is caused by small blood vessel leaks. Because they involve structural brain damage, contusions are more serious than concussions.
Brain contusions are most often caused by an impact to the head, such as those sustained in a car accident, a fall Jeffrey Bruma Netherland Jersey , or a sports-related accident. In some cases the brain is injured right below the site of impact, while in other cases the injury occurs on the opposite side of the impact.
Contusions are most often found in cortical tissue, in areas that are near sharp ridges on the inside of the skull, such as under the frontal and temporal lobes and on the root of the ocular orbit. The prognosis for contusion depends upon the severity of the injury. Small contusions are able to heal on their own but larger contusions may need surgical interventions depends on patient鈥檚 condition. Extremely severe contusions can cause herniation of the brain Jasper Cillessen Netherland Jersey , and eventually coma.
3. Chronic Subdural Hematomas
A chronic subdural hematoma (SDH) is an old clot of blood on the surface of the brain beneath its outer covering.
These liquefied clots most often occur in patients age 60 and older who have brain atrophy, a shrinking or wasting away of brain tissue due to age or disease. When the brain shrinks inside the skull over time, minor head trauma can cause tearing of blood vessels over the brain surface, resulting in a slow accumulation of blood over several days to weeks.
Because of the brain atrophy Gregory van der Wiel Netherland Jersey , the liquefied blood clots can become quite large before they cause symptoms. Less than half of patients remember the traumatic event itself because even relatively trivial trauma, such as a minor bump on the head, can produce these slow hemorrhages. Other risk factors include alcohol abuse, seizures Georginio Wijnaldum Netherland Jersey , shunts that drain excess cerebrospinal fluid from the brain, and blood thinning medication.
Hemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage is a common complication of traumatic brain injury. Intracerebral hemorrhage may result in a poor neurological outcome. In severe head injury if the hematoma is more than 50 ml it is associated with high mortality. It may expand over time. Contrast expansion on CT angiography is a strong and independent predictor of hematoma expansion. Aside from the direct damage to the brain tissue that was injured, swelling or edema is the major complication of an intracerebral bleed.
surgery is not often considered except in situations in which the pressure within the skull increases to the point at which part of the bone is temporarily removed to allow the brain to expand. When and if the brain swelling resolves, another operation replaces the piece of skull that was removed.
Brain Edema
Although a number of factors contribute to increased mortality and morbidity in traumatic brain injury Daryl Janmaat Netherland Jersey ,the development of cerebral