A good family friend of ours was just in a terrible car accident, he was driving just a little to fast and pulled into the wrong lane, swerved to miss a tractor trailer and swiped a car, on impact he was thrown from the vehicle through the windsheild. because of this his brain stem is crushed, is there ANYWAY AT ALL this can be fixed?
2006-06-26 11:17:43 · 7 answers · asked by southerngyrl14 2 in Health ➔ Other - Health
HE MOVED!!!!!!!!
prayer works
2006-06-27 08:09:15 · update #1
first of all let me say that i'm very sorry to hear about your friend.
most people with brain stem injuries unfortunately do not survive. this is the "control center" for our brains and is responsible for most everything our bodies do.
most cases of brain injuries i've seen (i work in trauma icu) don't have promising outcomes. the brain swells, and if there is no skull fracture-the swelling has nowhere to go but down the neck, which involves the brain stem and the brain "suffocates" itself due to the swelling.
more than likely, a ct scan and mri will be done on your friend to determine the amount of brain activity-if there is none-they will more than likely be declared brain dead and family will be consulted on what decision to make.
2006-06-27 02:02:08 · answer #1 · answered by prncessang228 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most of the time injury to a brain stem is fatal. I am surprised he survived that at all.. Brain stem is where they control breathing and other vital function...
2006-06-26 11:21:55 · answer #2 · answered by Bloo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry to tell you, no. Must people are lucky to survive a traumatic brain stem injury. Here's a cite that may give you more information. It also has other links. I don't know this family, but I will pray for them (God's knows and He listens).
http://www.tbirecovery.org/index.html
2006-06-26 11:25:05 · answer #3 · answered by Princess 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it can't be surgically repaired. Brainstem activity can only improve if swelling abates. If there was a crush injury or stroke, it will not repair itself beyond the time the swelling goes down. If a person is in a coma, there is no way their movements fall into the "voluntary" range. The definition of coma is the lack of voluntary functioning, and "voluntary" means "on purpose". What you see are most likely simply reflexes or unvoluntary muscle movement.
2016-03-27 05:12:51 · answer #4 · answered by Kera 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The brain stem controls our most basic functions. I don't know if anything could be done.
2006-06-26 11:21:05 · answer #5 · answered by tsopolly 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry to tell you, but no. That damage is irreversible.
2006-06-26 11:21:21 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry to hear that
2016-05-18 08:56:14 · answer #7 · answered by jason w 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋