injuries and poisoning
Skull Fracture
Treatment of Skull Fracture
For most fractures, observation in the hospital Sometimes surgery to remove foreign materials and/or put skull fragments back in place Most people with skull fractures without brain injury are admitted to the hospital and observed. Antiseizure medications . Other than fractures of the base of the skull and depressed skull fractures, most skull fractures require no specific treatment. People with a fracture of the base of the skull are admitted to the hospital. Bed rest and head elevation are needed until cerebrospinal fluid stops leaking. People should avoid blowing their nose because often a sinus near the nose is also fractured. If so, blowing the nose can cause air from the nose to spread to other parts of the face or head. Most tears in the meninges seal up on their own within 48 hours or at least within a week after the injury. If cerebrospinal fluid continues to leak, doctors can sometimes drain the fluid by inserting a small needle in the lower back. If fluid continues to leak, the leak is closed surgically. Depressed skull fractures increase the risk of infections because they may expose the brain to the outside. So doctors aim to prevent infection and the formation of abscesses by removing foreign materials and dead tissue and repairing as much of the damage as possible. Doctors lift skull fragments back into position and stitch the wound closed. A child with a skull fracture is admitted to the hospital if Symptoms suggest possible brain injury. The child was unconscious, even briefly. Symptoms or CT findings suggest a fracture at the base of the skull. The fracture occurs in an infant. Overview of Child Neglect and Abuse is suspected. Treatment of leptomeningeal cysts may involve observation only since these fluid-filled sacs sometimes heal themselves. In children who develop or become at risk of developing problems such as pressure on the brain or infection, doctors insert a catheter into the cyst and surgically drain it. Then they repair the meninges that formed the cyst. 