Memory loss following brain injury

[Mitzi]

5 months ago my son suffered a head injury when he was shot in the face when he was held-up.  The bullet left him blind in one eye and caused damage to his sinuses. He also had to have surgery afterwards to seal a csf leak. Per the neurosurgeons, the bullet just "grazed" or "bruised" the front of his brain and there was some subarachnoid bleeding that resolved on its own.  He is preparing to return to college and I am concerned about some memory problems.  The ones that I am seeing mostly relate to time - i.e. What month it is; The amount of time that has passed since an event; etc.  I am worried that what I see is only the tip of the iceberg and maybe he will have bigger problems when he returns to school.  (He already has to deal with ADD) Our primary care physician isn't worried about the possible memory loss.  Could this sort of injury cause any significant memory loss or learning problems?  Suggestions?
Thank you!

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-JT]

Very sorry to hear about your son. Glad that he is alive and relatively well. However, memory loss and cognitive problems are certainly legitimate concerns. The frontal lobe has many functions and connections to other parts of the brain including personality, motor strength, eye movements, learning and memory. I agree with your thoughts and recommend formal neuropsyche testing as well as neurological assessment. The neuropsyche testing is a multi hour exam that will show any strengths or weaknesses in someone who may be at risk for cognitive problems. It can serve as a baseline for future testing and comparison also. Talk to your PCP about getting a referral. Good luck.

[dede1960]

A related discussion, stem cell was started.