what is the chance of a person living if...??

Question

my friend wrecked and has severe brain trauma. she had a blood clot removed last nite from her brain and something else and there is still swelling on the brain. she had another surgery today. what is her chance of living?

Answer 1

Most likely, your friend underwent the surgery of craniotomy or brain surgery to remove subdural hematoma sustained from the blunt brain trauma or head injury as a result of the motor vehicle accident . The diagnosis for this is usually labelled ICB post MVA. Intracerebral bleed post Motor Vehicle accident.


This subdural hematoma is a - the build-up of blood beneath the thickest membrane (meninges) that covers the brain, called the dura mater. This is called a blunt trauma.


Craniotomy explained
A craniotomy is an operation to open the skull in order to access the brain for surgical repair. The patient is put under general anaesthesia. The hair on the scalp is shaved. A neurosurgeon performs the craniotomy by first cutting through the scalp over the area where the brain injury is thought to lie.

A hole is then cut into the skull in order to access the brain. This is needed to repair any ruptured blood vessels and to remove the blood clot or growth.

After the operation is finished, the piece of bone that was removed is replaced, the muscle and skin are stitched up and a drain is placed inside the brain to remove any excess blood left from the surgery.


Some of the possible complications following craniotomy include allergic reaction to the anaesthetic, bleeding, infection, brain damage, brain swelling, stroke and seizures.


Disabilities resulting from a TBI ( Traumatic brain injury)depend upon the severity of the injury, the location of the injury, and the age and general health of the patient.


Some common disabilities include problems with cognition (attention, calculation, memory, judgment, insight, and reasoning), sensory processing (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell), communication (language expression and understanding), social function (empathy, capacity for compassion, interpersonal social awareness and facility) and mental health (depression, anxiety, personality changes, aggression, acting out, and social inappropriateness


Immediate coma post the injury and the surgery is usually temporary . The patient should become conscious again once the swelling subside. However, the quality of her life is all dependent on how extensive her brain injury is.


So in conclusion, her prognosis i.e..; or her chances of surviving the head injury. will strongly depend upon the severity of the injury; the location and her general health and age before the accident.


As a critical care nurse for many many years; I have taken care of a lot of head injury pts and have seen very, very few live esp if they sustain massive head injuries. And should they come out of their coma, they sustained long lasting above mentioned disabilities. Only in a very selected few, did I see some signs of progress post long intensive rehabilitation.

Answer 2

i'm not sure any one of us is qualified to answer that, but here's some info. for ya. realize that this is the brain , which controls everything in our body. if a certain part of the brain was damaged , it may not be a question of will she live , but what will her quality of life be. hopefully there is not damage,
that's lasting, and given time, the swelling will decrease and finally go away but sometimes they are left with a little something to deal with much like people who have strokes.
right now , she is still in the critical stage and since i'm not a phsychic i can't predict her chance of living. one way to find out is to ask her family . if they know you are friends or even if you're just telling them for the first time about your frienship, maybe they would be willing to share some of her medical information with you , cause only they can. lots of prayers

Answer 3

There is a chance, but if theres a lot more then brain swelling she'll probably have some sort of brain damage or retardation. The swelling can more then likely be resolved with a shunt.

Answer 4

If you think positive and pray for her i am sure she could have a great chance . PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens)