Stroke - Pontine Hemorrhage

[BamaSuzy]

My husband is a stroke survivor, he suffered a pontine hemorrhage 8 months ago.  At stoke onset he was rushed to a local emergency room where he  received a CT scan.  They told him they could not treat him at that facility & he would be transferred immediately to another facility.  It was quite a while (3+ hours) before the transfer took place and then it was a big rush (by helicopter) to save his life by draining fluid from his brain, and the doctors there informed us he might not survive.  My question is:  Could waiting for the treatment have contributed to his disabilities following the type of stoke he suffered?  There is permanent nerve damage and someone told us that this is a result from having fluid/pressure on the brain.  

[BamaSuzy]

Yes he did suffer hydrocephalus and was dying by the time he received treatment (was not expected to pull through according to the surgeon).  Fluid was drained for about 6 days.  The neurologists wouldn't give us any definitive information, however, in rehab another physician and an optometrist said that the nerve damages affecting the eyes were a direct result from pressure to the brain and that probably because he wasn't treated immediately for the fluid build-up?  My husband has a medical background and wants to know exactly what caused the damage to the eyes - the pontine hemorrhage/stroke or fluid build-up on the brain.  The eyes were badly affected, along with numbness on the entire left side of his body, but my husband wants to know if he will ever recover his eye-sight. Therapy has helped alot and he can get around pretty good but he really wants his eye-sight back but after 9 months there has been no change.  We are still trying to understand all of this and get conflicting information from the doctors, which adds to the confusion.  No one can give him any hope for the return of his eye-sight or explain how it happened.

Sincerely,
BamaSuzy

[PaulMD]

Hi.

Pontine bleed can usually cause an obstructive type of hydrocephalus.  Meaning, the flow of the brain fluid is blocked by the hemorrhage which leads to accumulation of this fluid and increase in pressure.  Three hours of waiting may have made a difference since prolonged exposure to increased pressure in the brain can really have lasting injury to the brain tissues.  However, overall prognosis will also depend on the type and location of the stroke itself, and pontine hemorrhages are really one of the worst kind.

I pray that future strokes can be prevented, and this can be done by controlling the elements such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and stress levels.

Regards.