My First of 13 CT Scans
What is a Subdural Hematoma ?
The image above is the graphic generated by a CT (Computer Tomography) scan. It is a picture of my head and brain and depicts the subdural hematoma that had collected on top of my brain.
A Subdural hematoma is a collection of blood under the dura mater which is inside the skull and above the arachnoid mater which surrounds the brain. This area is normally a vacuum and void of any fluids. The hematoma occurs typically when there is a tear in the bridging veins that cross the subdural space. Click here for the Wikipedia description.
What causes a Subdural Hematoma ?
I had a chronic recurring subdural hematoma and the cause of the bleed was unknown. This can occur in a surprisingly large number of cases, often the symptoms can be traced back to an even minor head impact but sometimes the cause remains a mystery.
The most common cause is an impact to the head causing a traumatic brain injury. In these cases, the bleed can happen very quickly resulting in an increase in pressure within the head itself.
If the pressure is not relieved, acute subdural hematoma’s can become life threatening very quickly.
Symptoms of a Subdural Hematoma ?
It took some time for the Doctors to diagnose me as having a subdural hematoma. It started with a headache, I became very tired and was finding myself sleepy, groggy and never having enough energy.
If enough pressure is being applied to the brain, the symptoms can be of a Neurological nature as well. I experienced numbness & tingling in my hands, I also experienced dizzyness, blurry vision, confusion and seizure like episodes at times.
Other symptoms listed are the obvious head injury, loss of consciousness, irritability, pain, seizures, sensitivity to light, nausea, disorientation, slurred speech, etc. These symptoms are all common amongst head related injuries and when someone is experiencing these types of symptoms, they require immediate medical attention.
Treatment for a Subdural Hematoma
When I was finally diagnosed as having a subdural hematoma it had become almost debilitating. I was having a hard time functioning, as the inter cranial pressure was causing me tremendous pain along with experiencing many of the side affects.
My story about my subdural hematoma talks about the different surgeries that I had and my recovery from each. I had a burr hole surgery on two occassions and a craniotomy on the third brain surgery that finally rectified the problem within my head.
Some minor subdural hematomas can be treated without surgery. The brain will attempt to reabsorb the pooled blood into local tissue, Doctors can monitor this process and it the patient isn’t affected neurologically, the clot can be inspected regularly through the CT imaging process.
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