Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have been a growing concern since the news of Bob Saget’s cause of death. The effects of a TBI, caused by a blow, bump, or jolt to the head, can be mild, moderate, or severe.
“In general, severe traumatic brain injury accounts for only about 10 percent or less of all types of traumatic brain injuries,” said Dr. Amitoz Manhas, neurosurgeon at Overlake Medical Center. “For the most part, they’re not as common as less severe injuries to the brain.”
When a patient sustains a head injury, much of that relates to the shifting of the brain inside the skull. Healthcare providers work to mitigate the injury that occurs after initial trauma, like bleeding or swelling in the brain.
Signs of a TBI include confusion, external injuries to the head or scalp, and vomiting.
“Anything external that we can tie together with the injury tells us that this is more severe,” Dr. Manhas said.
Symptoms that a patient reports that may correlate to a TBI are worsening headache, visual impairment, weakness, and anything out of the ordinary, especially if it’s a progressive symptom.
Pupils may also be able to predict a more severe outcome. If a pupillary reaction changes, that means that the cranial nerve or brain stem may be compressed due to swelling in the brain or growing hematoma.
“It’s kind of a surrogate for some other process that’s occurring internally,” Dr. Manhas said.
If there is concern of a severe head injury, it’s important to get the patient checked at an emergency room or urgent care, even if you’re not certain it is a severe head injury or even if there is an actual head injury involved.
“The risk of something more significant occurring, as in the case of Mr. Saget, something occurring that’s irreversible, is so important that I think it’s worthwhile in those cases to go get evaluated,” Dr. Manhas said.
To learn more about head injuries, visit the Overlake website.
Sponsored by Overlake Medical Center. Segment Producer Joseph Suttner. Watch New Day Northwest 11 AM weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.