Heads Up Alaska: Heading Into Surgery

When someone has a traumatic brain injury, emergency surgery can be the best option for recovery

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By MJ Thim

Story Created: Feb 17, 2013 at 8:15 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Apr 30, 2013 at 8:49 AM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - The brain is the most important part of our body. Still, there are many of us who don't give it a second thought.

"It contains our mind, our thought processes and the control center," said Dr. Tim Cohen, a neurosurgeon at Alaska Regional Hospital.

Until we injure our brain, many of us don’t realize how unforgiving the organ is.

When someone has a traumatic brain injury or TBI, emergency surgery can be the best option for recovery; it can help relieve pressure inside the skull, repair skull fractures and remove blood clots.

At Alaska Regional, one of many jobs Dr. Cohen performs is analysis of CT scans. He looks for blood clots, called subdural hematomas. If these are left untreated, the patient could die. Though surgery is the only option to relieve the pressure, most people worry they may not come out of it the same.

“A lot of people and a lot of Alaskans are concerned with their function. 'Am I going to be independent after this injury and surgery? Am I going to be able to take care of myself?,'" said Dr. Cohen.

Dr. Cohen says some of the recoveries he's seen are amazing.

"I have patients who have epidermal hematomas and they go home a few days later. It's spectacular recovery. So it's not a debilitating surgery where the surgery itself creates a lot of problems. It's the TBI that creates the downstream issues,” he said.

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Susan Nielsen said on Saturday, Feb 23 at 3:28 PM

I would agree with your article, but I believe one thing is left out, you do not speak of patients who go in for a different surgery and come out with permanent brain damage, nor do you address what happens when the families of these patients find themselves in the position of having to face the fact that "Nobody" is responsible, and even the Fed. Reserve has enough money to sue the Dr.'s and Hospital, and then the patient ends up, unemployable, with debilitating on going dementia, and chronic ongoing Cluster headaches. I would like to see an article about that , I live in this world every day taking care of a former Patient of the Alaska Regional/Mat-Su Regional Hospital.

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Dave Eubank said on Monday, Feb 25 at 2:00 PM

On Easter Sunday of 98' I found myself in the emergency room at Providence when my bro was told I had sustained a #5 brain anuerysm and that my chances of recovery would be much greater if I was airlifted to Seattle; it was a gutsy call but my bro made that decision. I was airlifted to Seattle where I spent 11 hrs. under the knife in reconstructive brain surgery and the rest is ancient history.

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