Traumatic Head Injury

Bumping your head or shaking it violently can damage your delicate brain. If you suffer head trauma, visit Board-certified and highly skilled neurosurgeon Yan Michael Li, MD, PhD, at the Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Institute. At their offices in Houston and San Antonio, Texas, and Upstate, New York, Dr. Li and his colleagues provide timely traumatic brain injury diagnosis and treatment. Call your nearest office today or book an appointment online to receive expert head trauma care.

What is head trauma?

Head trauma happens when you receive a blow to your head that causes a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Whiplash, where your head moves violently back and forth so that your brain hits the inside of your skull, also causes a TBI.

The damage head trauma causes will depend on how severe the impact is. A concussion, the mildest form, is the most common. You could experience a brief loss of consciousness (though not always) and develop problems like:

• Headache
• Confusion
• Blurred vision
• Nausea and vomiting
• Difficulty focusing
• Slurred speech
• Disturbed sleep

Concussion symptoms usually fade within a week, but some people develop postconcussion syndrome. This can last up to a year. You might experience frequent headaches, dizziness, and fatigue, be anxious and irritable, have a poor memory or trouble concentrating, and suffer from light and sound sensitivity.

What problems might head trauma cause?

Moderate to severe head trauma can fracture your skull. You can suffer brain injuries like:

• Cerebral contusion (bruising)
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding around the brain)
• Intracerebral hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain)
• Diffuse nerve injuries (torn or stretched nerves)
• Hematoma (bleeding under the skull)
• Hydrocephalus (fluid around the brain)

TBIs can affect an isolated area of your brain or the entire organ. After moderate or severe head trauma, you might be unconscious for six hours or more. Seizures and memory loss are often aftereffects of more severe TBIs.

The Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Institute specializes in evaluating and managing mild to severe TBIs.

How is head trauma treated?

Concussion needs mental and physical rest so that your brain has time to heal. Moderate to severe head trauma requires observation and possibly surgery. Dr. Li might perform procedures to:

• Stop bleeding in your brain
• Reduce pressure inside your skull
• Repair a fracture
• Remove a blood clot

You might need medication after head trauma to reduce the chance of a secondary brain injury or reduce an injury’s effects.

You also need continuous brain monitoring to identify dangerous complications like contusions (bruises) and hematomas (blood pockets). These can develop or grow after a head trauma, requiring urgent surgery.

The Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Institute provides expert care to patients with postconcussion syndrome. They also treat depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that affect some head trauma patients. Dr. Li offers safe, noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which uses magnetic waves to stimulate your brain.

Call the Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Institute today or book an appointment online for expert head trauma diagnosis and treatment.