Brain Trauma

Published on: May 9, 2012

Lawyers have been studying the rising trend.

by Stephen Bilkis

The current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have led to a great many more serious injuries to United States service members. One of the most prevalent and dangerous is explosive blast traumatic brain injury (TBI). Doctors have been studying the rising trend.

There have been a number of military medical treatments for blast TBI which have been a success in the war theater, such as decompressive craniectomy, cerebral angiography, transcranial Doppler, hypertonic resuscitation fluids, and others. There has been similar progress stateside in neurosurgery, neuro-critical care, and rehabilitation for patients suffering injuries caused by blast TBI.

As they continue to treat these injuries, military physicians have been able to clinically categorize many types of blast TBI. One of these important discoveries is the development of psuedoaneurysms and vasospasm in severe blast TBI victims, which can cause delayed decompensation. Another is that mild blast TBI often has very similar clinical features to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some physicians have conclude that the injuries explosive trauma causes to the nervous system might be more complex than might appear at first examination.

Published on: April 30, 2012

Information collection is an important component of dealing with head injuries

by Stephen Bilkis

Information collection is an important component of dealing with head injuries. The use of registry systems for head injuries will allow medical professionals to track patterns of injury and learn better methods of preventing them. The lack of proper pre-hospital care can mean the difference between life and death. Most developed countries today, however, are adequately prepared to care for and transport patients when a head injury has occurred.

Pre-hospital care is another thing to consider when it comes to head injuries, according to doctors. Modern trauma care systems have refined resuscitation, triage, evacuation and primary and secondary care for the patient with severe or multiple injuries so that more lives are being saved than ever before. The system is regionalized in order to provide the best possible care, depending upon the specific circumstance. Regional Resource Trauma Centers provide education and research programs, as well as all levels of care. Community Trauma Centers provide care, but not education or research. Rural Trauma Hospitals in Nassau, Long Island may have limited resources, but they are able to stabilize then transfer patients to another facility.

Head injuries are a component in the vast majority of fatalities due to trauma. The involvement of neurosurgeons and systems of care reduce these fatalities dramatically, according to doctors. Minimal standards for the treatment of severe neurological injury have been suggested and even implemented in many places. Underfunding and difficulty in recruiting medical professionals to trauma care remains a problem, however.

Published on: April 23, 2012

The current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have led to a great many more serious injuries to United States service members

by Stephen Bilkis

The current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have led to a great many more serious injuries to United States service members. One of the most prevalent and dangerous is explosive blast traumatic brain injury (TBI). Lawyers have been studying the rising trend.

There have been a number of military medical treatments for blast TBI which have been a success in the war theater, such as decompressive craniectomy, cerebral angiography, transcranial Doppler, hypertonic resuscitation fluids, and others. There has been similar progress stateside in neurosurgery, neuro-critical care, and rehabilitation for patients suffering injuries caused by blast TBI.

As they continue to treat these injuries, military physicians in The Bronx and Brooklyn have been able to clinically categorize many types of blast TBI, according to studies. One of these important discoveries is the development of psuedoaneurysms and vasospasm in severe blast TBI victims, which can cause delayed decompensation. Another is that mild blast TBI often has very similar clinical features to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some physicians have conclude that the injuries explosive trauma causes to the nervous system might be more complex than might appear at first examination.

Published on: April 16, 2012

Nutrition Key to Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery

by Stephen Bilkis

A new report suggests that an infusion of calories and proteins may help reduce inflammation and aid recovery in traumatic brain injury cases, as brought forth by a Lawyer.

Service members wounded on the battlefield are finding that proper nutrition plays an important role in improving the outcome of their traumatic brain injury. This is especially true if it is administered soon after they incur the injury, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report proclaims.

The report, commissioned by the Department of Defense, urges the military to make calorie and protein-based infusions a standard part of care in the immediate aftermath of an injury.

Published on: April 10, 2012

Giants Fan Fights to Overcome Brain Injury

by Stephen Bilkis

The family of a Giants fan worries that he won’t be able to fully recover from brain injuries he received from a beating that took place at a Dodgers game.

The injured man is a Northern California paramedic. He was severely beaten when he attended the Dodgers home opener last month. One month later, the family is left wondering if he will ever recover from his serious injuries.

The victim’s mother told a local news outlet that the family is trying to remain optimistic. “Today was very odd,” she reported. “I was looking at his eyes to see if there was any movement, any dreaming, and there’s just nothing there. He’s basically gone,” she laments.

Published on: April 4, 2012

Things become much more complex in a non-free field or enclosed area, such as a building, New York Brain Injury Lawyers have learned.

by Stephen Bilkis

The type of explosion studied theoretically in the determination of the causes of explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI) assumed an open field explosion. Things become much more complex in a non-free field or enclosed area, such as a building, experts have learned.

In an enclosed space, the shockwaves can reflect from walls, ceilings, and other objects, creating a “complex wave field.” An explosive blast under such conditions creates an individual scenario that cannot accurately be predicted or replicated.

Lawyers have noted there has been the assumption that pressure, and not the shockwave, may cause bTBI, but such studies may not be valid. These studies suggest the pressure of the blast leads to failure of air-filled organs, such as the lungs and the bowels. Therefore, if this is true, lungs should be injured more often in explosions. Clinical experience shows this is not the case. The bowel is generally uninjured unless there is penetration from shrapnel. Brain injury was not studied and some believe interceptor body armor may protect those organs from the blast. There may even be other physical forces that play a role in explosive blast injury. Hospitals and doctors in Queens and Staten Island are aware of circumstances like this and are trying to find medical answers.

Published on: March 13, 2012

Baby Killed by “Very Violent” Brain Injury

by Stephen Bilkis

Police describe the death of a six-month-old baby Ngaruawahia girl as a “very violent” incident. The girl died from a traumatic brain injury(TBI), the post mortem report reveals.

The child had been admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) after suffering non-accidental injuries.

The small baby died at Starship Hospital last Thursday after life support was turned off, a doctor sadly states.

Published on: March 5, 2012

Care for victims of traumatic brain injury (TBI) starts on the battlefield

by Stephen Bilkis

Care for victims of traumatic brain injury (TBI) starts on the battlefield, according to “Guidelines for Field Management of Combat-Related Head Trauma”, many concerned doctors have learned. The combat medic works hard to prevent further harm from coming to the victim. The basics, such as the ABCs of airway, breathing, and circulation are tended to before work on the actual injury begins.

Once the patient is stabilized, the severity of the injury is determined, which helps form the basis of triage decisions. Someone who is less injured can be evacuated to a better facility than a field hospital. Some of these need to be moved by helicopter or some other expeditious manner. A blast from something like an improvised explosive device (IED) often results in multiple injuries, which need to be managed all at once.

The combat support hospital is the place for a more detailed assessment of injuries. When it comes to blast trauma, neuroimaging with CT scans should be done as soon as possible. It is important to identify things like intracranial hemorrhage, skull fractures, or cerebral edemas before they develop into something worse. Often it is necessary to perform emergency neurosurgery, field doctors have discovered.

Published on: March 2, 2012

Injuries caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) can be complicated, New York Brain Injury Lawyers have learned.

by Stephen Bilkis

Injuries caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) can be complicated, sources have learned. Such a blast can cause a number of brain injuries that have their own problems, like traumatically amputated limbs, multiple penetrating wounds, and heavy bleeding. It takes a great deal of skill and knowledge to treat injuries from an explosive blast, because there are so many different injuries caused by it.

A number of subspecialists are required to help the patient, under the direction of a trauma surgeon. Soft-tissue loss is common, in addition to severe burns to the face and scalp. When it comes to the military, a helmet can be excellent protection against penetrating objects, so if the blast does cause penetrating object injuries, it is often through the face, orbit of the eye, or base of the skull, all areas not covered by the helmet. Even when the helmet does prevent an object from penetrating the skull there can still be associated cTBI (closed head traumatic blast injury) that may cause anything from mild concussions to severe contusions and skull fractures, where the helmet is dented from the blow, doctors have discovered.

Hospitals and doctors in Manhattan and Queens are studying these cases and trying to improve their treatment. The more information they receive the better chance they have of developing treatment which will solve the problems these injuries present.

Published on: February 27, 2012

Explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI) can be a complicated thing

by Stephen Bilkis

Explosive blast traumatic brain injury(bTBI) can be a complicated thing, doctors have learned. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have determined secondary, tertiary, and even quaternary effects that may contribute to a particular patient’s condition.

The primary injury comes from the forces created by the explosion itself. Secondary injury might occur due to matter thrown by the explosion, like fragments from the weapon itself, or debris in the immediate environment. Tertiary injury occurs when the victim is thrown by the blast to strike a wall or the ground. Finally, quaternary injuries may occur from factors not included in the first three, like burns or inhalation of toxic fumes.

Experts have seen that the injuries can cause a number of symptoms. It might be as mild as a brief period of confusion – or it may lead to a coma. Severe bTBI commonly leads to diffuse cerebral edema and hyperemia, developing rapidly, within an hour after the initial blast injury. This type of injury seems to be much more common with blasts, as opposed to other forms of traumatic brain injury, and this type of injury has lead to military neurosurgeons performing more decompressive craniectomies more often than they would for penetrative traumatic brain injury (pTBI) or closed head traumatic brain injury (cTBI).