What Treatments Are Available for People with a TBI?

What treatments are available for people with a TBI? A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can affect a person for the rest of his or her life. The treatment ultimately depends on the severity of the TBI, but all treatments tend to be costly and time-consuming. A mild traumatic brain injury rarely requires treatment, while severe TBIs may need initial treatment and acute rehabilitation therapy, surgical care, and possibly supportive care for the rest of the person’s life.

Initial Treatment

The initial treatment is what is received immediately after the injury. This phase of therapy is designed to stabilize the patient. For example, after a motor vehicle accident where a victim suffers a TBI, the victim is transported to the emergency room and seen by a trauma surgeon. The trauma surgeon then decides the proper course of treatment – including scans and other diagnostic tools – to help him or her identify the severity of the TBI.

Acute Treatment

Acute treatments have one goal: To minimize the damage. These may include life support – where mechanical ventilation supplies oxygen to the victim – to help reduce cranial pressure. A device is likely inserted inside the brain to measure intracranial pressure and help physicians better monitor the victim’s status. Some medications may also be administered to keep up attention, minimize aggressive behavior, and reduce pain.

Rehabilitative Care and Treatment

After acute treatment, the victim often enters rehabilitative care and treatment if the TBI is something that he or she can recover from.

The purpose of rehabilitative care is to stabilize the patient and prevent secondary complications. The staff also provides adaptive techniques to help the patient live with the TBI and enhance functionality. Lost abilities may be restored through long-term rehabilitative care.

Rehabilitative care is often a daily treatment, and a TBI victim could undergo rehabilitative treatments for months, years, or the rest of life, depending on the severity of the injury.

Surgical Treatment

A serious TBI may require surgical intervention for the brain to heal. Bleeding inside the brain is often drained to reduce pressure inside of the skull. Swelling or damaged brain tissue might be removed during surgery, and skull fractures repaired.

Supportive Treatments

A serious TBI could leave the victim unconscious for several days, weeks, or potentially forever. Supportive care and treatments are there to ensure that the victim is breathing and receiving fluids, and to monitor possible seizures. The supportive team ultimately preserves the victim’s body and its functions to make sure that physicality is up to par when the brain recovers.

Recovery-Based Treatments

Recovery treatments depend on the severity of the TBI. For some, recovery takes a few weeks, while for others it may take years. Elements like post-traumatic treatments, age, and the duration of a patient’s coma may help physicians better predict how long recovery will take.

When a TBI is the Result of Someone’s Negligence, Contact an Attorney

If you or a loved one suffered a TBI because of someone’s negligence, you might be entitled to compensation. Compensation is often required to cover the extensive costs of TBI treatments.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

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