Head injuries that cause internal bleeding are always very serious. These types of injuries can cause different medical conditions, including brain aneurysms and strokes. It is the responsibility of a medical provider to accurately diagnose these types of brain injuries and treat them with quality care.
Below, we discuss the causes of these brain conditions, how doctors accurately diagnose brain aneurysms, and the various treatment options available for individuals with these conditions.
Brain Aneurysms vs. Strokes
While brain aneurysms and strokes both have the potential to be debilitating, they are two completely different things. A stroke occurs when blood supply to the brain has been blocked or when there is a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.
On the other hand, a brain aneurysm is the result of an artery wall that has been weakened due to constant pressure from blood flow. Think of it as a portion of the artery wall that is much thinner, causing it to “balloon” up as the blood flows through it.
While they do have many causes, some aneurysms are caused by direct brain trauma from incidents of:
Car accidents
Truck accidents
Motorcycle accidents
If a brain aneurysm is not properly treated, the pressure can lead to an aneurysm rupture.
Diagnosing a Patient with an Aneurysm
If an aneurysm ruptures, it can leak blood into the space around the brain. Known as “subarachnoid hemorrhage,” this rupture can cause:
A sudden, severe, and lasting headache
Nausea and vomiting
Drowsiness and/or coma
Because of this, it’s incredibly important for doctors to accurately diagnose aneurysms in the brain. Special imaging tests are typically used to detect brain aneurysms, such as:
CTA. A patient is placed on a table that slides into a CT scanner and images are taken of the blood vessels to look for abnormalities such as brain aneurysms.
MRA. A patient is placed on a table that slides into a magnetic resonance scanner and images are taken on the blood vessels to detect a cerebral aneurysm.
Diagnostic Cerebral Angiogram. A patient lies on an X-ray table where a catheter is inserted through the groin and into each of the brain’s blood vessels, and pictures are taken.
Treatment Options
Once a doctor diagnoses a patient with a brain aneurysm, the goal is to prevent a rupture by treating the pressure or leaking of the aneurysm. There are two treatment options typically used for this:
Surgical Clipping
A doctor may perform a surgical clipping, a technique that cuts off blood supply to the brain to prevent it either from rupturing or to control bleeding if a rupture has already occurred. During a craniotomy, a neurosurgeon will create an opening in the skull to reach the aneurysm in the brain.
Then, they will place a small metal clip on the opening of the aneurysm to obstruct the flow of blood; the clip remains in place on the blood vessel inside of the brain.
Coiling
Another treatment option is coiling, a technique used to block blood flow to the aneurysm and keep it from rupturing. For this procedure, the doctor will insert a catheter into the groin and advance it up o the affected brain artery.
Small platinum coils, about the diameter of hairs, are then released into the aneurysm until the dome is full. These induce clotting (embolization) of the aneurysm, eliminating the risk of a rupture.
Contact a Seattle Brain Injury Attorney
Sadly, many individuals who suffer from brain aneurysms are injured due to a doctor’s failure to diagnose. In instances of medical negligence, your doctor may either have:
Diagnosed your medical condition incorrectly, leading to incorrect treatment plans or no treatment at all
Failed to provide you with the quality care needed to properly treat your brain aneurysm
If you believe that you sustained a brain aneurysm or another serious brain injury as the result of medical negligence, you need seasoned and aggressive legal representation. Our Seattle brain injury attorneys will work as your legal advocates, utilizing each one of our resources to determine whether your medical provider acted negligently.
Once this determination is made, we are prepared to fight hard for the compensation you need to recover physically and emotionally.
Contact Kornfeld Law at (425) 657-5255 to schedule your free case review.