|
Questions posted in the
Neurology and Neurosurgery Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
| |
|
Subject: Re: Life expectancy for TBI
: : : The brain injury your son sustained would be categorized as a severe brain injury. The damage that resulted was most likely multifactorial. In general in brain injury that results from a car accident one will have a primary injury which involved a contusion of the brain (bruising) at the site of impact and at the site opposite to the impact due to the acceleration of the brain at impact. There also is diffuse axonal injury which results from the shearing forces. Although this damage is on the microscopic level it often results in significant loss of consciousness and neurologic impairement. There is also petechial (microscopic bleeding) and there may or may not be a large amount of bleeding (subdural, epidural, subarachnoid or hemispheric hemorrhage). The above may lead to secondary insults which include brain swelling (edema) resulting in high intracranial pressures leading to shifting of brain tissue and compromising blood flow to the brain. There may also be other complications such as lack of blood flow to the brain if the patient was not breathing after the injury occurred before they received medical care. After the initial acute care phase, the majority of people will undergo extensive rehabilitation. The amount of function that is recovered is highly variable but does relate to the degree of injury that was sustained. Most dramatic improvements are seen within the first 6 months. Thereafter, the recovery is slower but may continue up to a year or more. As you have stated you continue to see improvements in your son even 8 years after the injury. Younger patients do better in general due to the ability of the younger brain to recovery to some extent. I suspect your son may be continuing to learn new things. However, the extent of recovery will still be very limited. It sounds like your son has received wonderful care from both you and the facility he is at. His life expectancy should be normal as long as he does not develop any complications. He can be continued on tube feedings indefinetly because it supplies all his required daily nutrients and water. These patients may get in to trouble if they develop infections, commonly lung-from aspiration of tube feeds, and urinary tract infections. These infections may become serious (systemic) if they go unnoticed. Bed sores or blood clots in the leg may also lead to significant problems I hope this information has been helpful to you. I will also be submitting some support group address to you in a subsequent answerif it does not appear in this submission. National Head Injury Foundation 400 chapters. Founded 1980. Advocacy organization providing services to persons with brain injury The Perspectives Network International network. Founded 1990. Emotional and informational support and networking for Brain Trauma Foundation Head Injury Hotline (aka Phoenix Project) |
|
[Neurology Forum] [Neurology Forum Archives] |