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General Surgery

Types of Head Injury

1. Extradural Hematoma (EDH)

Overview

  • Demographics: Most common in young male patients.
  • Association: Always associated with skull fractures.
  • Injured Vessel: Middle meningeal artery.
  • Common Site of Injury: Temporal bone at the pterion (the thinnest part of the skull), which overlies the middle meningeal artery.
  • Location of Hematoma: Between the bone and the dura mater.

Other Common Sites

  1. Frontal fossa
  2. Posterior fossa
  3. May occur following disruption of major dural venous sinus.

Classical Presentation

  • Initial Injury: Followed by a lucid interval where the patient may only complain of a headache.
  • Deterioration: After minutes to hours, rapid deterioration occurs, leading to:
    • Contralateral hemiparesis
    • Reduced consciousness level
    • Ipsilateral pupillary dilatation (due to herniation)

Imaging

  • CT Scan: Shows a lentiform (lens-shaped or biconvex) hyperdense lesion between the brain and skull.

Treatment

  • Surgical Intervention: Immediate surgical evacuation via craniotomy.
  • Mortality Rate: Overall mortality is 18% for all cases of EDH, but only 2% for isolated EDH.

2. Acute Subdural Hematoma (ASDH)

Overview

  • Location: Accumulates in the space between the dura and arachnoid.
  • Injury Mechanism: Associated with cortical vessel disruption and brain laceration.
  • Primary Brain Injury: Often associated with primary brain injury.

Presentation

  • Consciousness: Impaired consciousness from the time of impact.

Imaging

  • CT Scan: Appears hyperdense, with hematoma spreading diffusely and having a concavo-convex appearance.

Treatment

  • Surgical Intervention: Evacuation via craniotomy.
  • Mortality Rate: Approximately 40%.

3. Chronic Subdural Hematoma (CSDH)

Overview

  • Demographics: Most common in patients on anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents.
  • History: Often follows a minor head injury weeks to months prior.
  • Pathology: Due to the tear of bridging veins leading to ASDH, which is clinically silent. As the hematoma breaks down, it increases in volume, causing mass effect on the underlying brain.

Clinical Features

  • Symptoms may include:
    • Headache
    • Cognitive decline
    • Focal neurological deficits (FND)
    • Seizures
  • Important to exclude endocrine, hypoxic, and metabolic causes in this group.

Imaging

  • CT Scan Appearance:
    • Acute blood (0–10 days): Hyperdense
    • Subacute blood (10 days to 2 weeks): Isodense
    • Chronic (> 2 weeks): Hypodense

Treatment

  • Surgical Intervention: Bur hole evacuation rather than craniotomy.
  • Anesthesia: Elderly patients can often undergo surgery under local anesthesia, despite comorbidities.

4. Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH)

Overview

  • Causes: Most commonly due to aneurysms for spontaneous SAH, but trauma is the most common cause overall.
  • Management: Conservative treatment is often employed for trauma cases.

5. Cerebral Contusions

Overview

  • Definition: Bruising of the brain tissue due to trauma.
  • Mechanism: Often occurs at the site of impact (coup) and the opposite side (contrecoup).
  • Symptoms: Can range from mild confusion to severe neurological deficits depending on the extent of the injury.

Imaging

  • CT Scan: May show areas of low attenuation (hypodense) or high attenuation (hyperdense) depending on the age of the contusion.

Treatment

  • Management: Depends on the severity and associated injuries; may require surgical intervention if there is significant mass effect.

Cardiovascular Effects of Sevoflurane, Halothane, and Isoflurane

  • Sevoflurane:
    • Maintains cardiac index and heart rate effectively.

    • Exhibits less hypotensive and negative inotropic effects compared to halothane.

    • Cardiac output is greater than that observed with halothane.

    • Recovery from sevoflurane anesthesia is smooth and comparable to isoflurane, with a shorter time to standing than halothane.

  • Halothane:
    • Causes significant decreases in mean arterial pressure, ejection fraction, and cardiac index.

    • Heart rate remains at baseline levels, but overall cardiovascular function is depressed.

    • Recovery from halothane is less favorable compared to sevoflurane and isoflurane.

  • Isoflurane:
    • Preserves cardiac index and ejection fraction better than halothane.

    • Increases heart rate while having less suppression of mean arterial pressure compared to halothane.

    • Cardiac output during isoflurane anesthesia is similar to that of sevoflurane, indicating a favorable cardiovascular profile.

Excision of Lesions Involving the Jaw Bone

When excising lesions involving the jaw bone, various terminologies are used to describe the specific techniques and outcomes of the procedures.

1. Enucleation

  • Enucleation refers to the separation of a lesion from the bone while preserving bone continuity. This is achieved by removing the lesion along an apparent tissue or cleavage plane, which is often defined by an encapsulating or circumscribing connective tissue envelope derived from the lesion or surrounding bone.
  • Key Characteristics:
    • The lesion is contained within a defined envelope.
    • Bone continuity is maintained post-excision.

2. Curettage

  • Curettage involves the removal of a lesion from the bone by scraping, particularly when the lesion is friable or lacks an intact encapsulating tissue envelope. This technique may result in the removal of some surrounding bone.
  • Key Characteristics:
    • Indicates the inability to separate the lesion along a distinct tissue plane.
    • May involve an inexact or immeasurable thickness of surrounding bone.
    • If a measurable margin of bone is removed, it is termed "resection without continuity defect."

3. Marsupialization

  • Marsupialization is a surgical procedure that involves the exteriorization of a lesion by removing overlying tissue to expose its internal surface. This is done by excising a portion of the lesion bordering the oral cavity or another body cavity.
  • Key Characteristics:
    • Multicompartmented lesions are rendered unicompartmental.
    • The lesion is clinically cystic, and the excised tissue may include bone and/or overlying mucosa.

4. Resection Without Continuity Defect

  • This term describes the excision of a lesion along with a measurable perimeter of investing bone, without interrupting bone continuity. The anatomical relationship allows for the removal of the lesion while preserving the integrity of the bone.
  • Key Characteristics:
    • Bone continuity is maintained.
    • Adjacent soft tissue may be included in the resection.

5. Resection With Continuity Defect

  •  This involves the excision of a lesion that results in a defect in the continuity of the bone. This is often associated with more extensive resections.
  • Key Characteristics:
    • Bone continuity is interrupted.
    • May require reconstruction or other interventions to restore function.

6. Disarticulation

  •  Disarticulation is a special form of resection that involves the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and results in a continuity defect.
  • Key Characteristics:
    • Involves the removal of the joint and associated structures.
    • Results in loss of continuity in the jaw structure.

7. Recontouring

  •  Recontouring refers to the surgical reduction of the size and/or shape of the surface of a bony lesion or bone part. The goal is to reshape the bone to conform to the adjacent normal bone surface or to achieve an aesthetic result.
  • Key Characteristics:
    • May involve lesions such as bone hyperplasia, torus, or exostosis.
    • Can be performed with or without complete eradication of the lesion (e.g., fibrous dysplasia).

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