What is a focal head injury?
What is a focal head injury?
Focal brain injury refers to areas of localised damage and includes contusions and lacerations. Contusions are multiple small haemorrhages in the surface layers of the brain (i.e. bruises). They can occur at the site of impact and/or at the opposite side of the brain from the site of impact.
What is a focal injury?
A focal traumatic injury results from direct mechanical forces (such as occur when the head strikes a windshield in a vehicle accident) and is usually associated with brain tissue damage visible to the naked eye.
What are the types of focal head injuries?
Types of Focal Brain Injuries
- An intraventricular hemorrhage is bleeding within the brain’s ventricles.
- A subdural hemorrhage occurs when there is bleeding between the brain’s arachnoid and dura matter.
- An intracerebral hemorrhage occurs within the cerebrum—the brain’s main tissue.
Which of the following is a focal injury?
Focal injuries include scalp injury, skull fracture, and surface contusions and are generally be caused by contact. Diffuse injuries include DAI, hypoxic-ischemic damage, meningitis, and vascular injury and are usually caused by acceleration-deceleration forces. These 2 forms of injury are commonly found together.
What causes focal brain injuries?
Causes of Focal Brain Injury Falls, sport injuries, and motor vehicle collisions are all examples of causes of a focal brain injury. Other causes can also include a penetrating head wound or a gunshot wound[iii]. Depending on the site of injury as well as severity of the injury, many findings can result.
Is TBI a focal?
TBI is a broad term that describes a vast array of injuries that happen to the brain. The damage can be focal (confined to one area of the brain) or diffuse (happens in more than one area of the brain).
Is concussion a focal brain injury?
The damage can be focal (confined to one area of the brain) or diffuse (happens in more than one area of the brain). The severity of a brain injury can range from a mild concussion to a severe injury that results in coma or even death.
What is the difference between focal and diffuse brain injury?
How is focal brain injury treated?
‘Syndrome of the Trephined’ Focal brain injuries are often treated with a type of surgery known as a decompressive craniotomy. This involves the removal of a skull flap (a portion of the skull) to access the brain underneath for treatment, followed by replacement of the skull flap.