What is the procedure for someone who has suffered a skull fracture?
If the patient is involved in a motor vehicle accident, or falls and sustains a skull fracture with internal bleeding, then he or she is taken to the operating room immediately. A skin incision is made in the area of the bone that is fractured and the brain is visualized. Bleeding is controlled, and any minimal blood clots are evacuated. Then the bone is replaced and secured, the fracture is repaired, the skin is closed, and the patient can return to the ICU. There are some instances in trauma where the brain tissue is so damaged that there is significant brain swelling. In such conditions, the bone flap — which is the portion of the bone that is removed and set aside in the operating room until the brain is addressed — may need to be stored until the patient has recovered from the acute phase of insult. What kinds of advances in neurosurgery have occurred over the past few years? There have been many advances. We have better equipment and improved instruments to deal with neurological
