Traumatic Brain Injury Health Center

Initial treatment of any traumatic brain injury will include stabilization procedures to determine if the patient's life is in danger. After a patient's vital functions (breathing, heartbeat, blood flow etc) are stabilized, a trauma team will determine if there are any major injuries such as bleeding in the brain, skull fractures, spinal cord injuries, or any other bodily injuries that may have occurred during the accident or injury. If needed, surgical corrections may be made. 

Treatment for TBI will vary depending on the severity of the injury. Injuries such as a mild concussion may only need to be treated with a few weeks rest and headache support. Devastating TBI's may be permanent and require round the clock hospital care and life support, such as mechanical ventilation and drug-induced coma.

Conditions in between may require varying levels of physical or mental rehabilitation to regain lost functional abilities, usually depending on what part of the brain was damaged. For example, people who have injured the part of their brain that helps them talk may need verbal rehabilitation, while others may need help learning to walk or move if their motor cortex was damaged.