A brain injury is a common occurrence in the United States. When a head injury occurs, there is damage to the scalp, skull, meninges, and brain.
A brain injury occurring from head trauma is classified as a primary brain injury. This can include subarachnoid hemorrhages (bleeding from a damaged artery at the surface of the brain), diffuse axonal injury (global neuron damage) or concussion (mechanical force applied to skull).
A secondary brain injury occurs after the initial trauma and causes damage to the neurons.
These more serious brain injuries can cause long-term complications or death.
Causes of brain injury can include falls, vehicle accidents, violence (gunshot wounds, domestic violence), sports injuries, combat injuries and explosive blasts.
Symptoms:
Mild traumatic brain injury
- Headache
- Nausea or vomiting
- Fatigue or drowsiness
- Problems with speech
- Dizziness or loss of balance
- Sensory deficits (ringing in the ears, changes in tastes/smell)
- Cognitive, behavioral or mental changes (mood swings, memory/concentration problems, sleep pattern changes, changes loss of consciousness)
Moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries: symptoms may appear within first hours to days after a head injury
- Loss of consciousness
- Persistent headaches
- Repeated nausea/vomiting
- Seizures
- Significant confusion
- Slurred speech
- Agitation
Diagnosis
Dr. Tsimpas will evaluate your symptoms as it relates to the images obtained from your scans.
- Computerized Tomography (CT): Non-invasive x-ray to look at the structures within the brain and evaluate for any possible bleeding
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): medical imaging technique that uses a magnetic field and computer generated radio waves to create detailed images of the brain
Treatment:
Treatment varies on the severity of the patient’s condition. Sometimes, a flexible tube needs to be placed in the brain to control the pressure inside the skull. This is called an External Ventricular Drain (EVD). The EVD may be removed eventually, or could be transitioned to a permanent form of tube in the brain called a Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt. Other times, we are able to watch patients closely with regular repeat imaging and they do not require any surgical intervention.