Key points from today’s guests:

Janet Wisner, treated for brain bleed

• Janet had a fall at home in early November and hit her head. She treated it with an ice pack and thought nothing more of it.
• Several months later, she experienced severe symptoms like loss of balance, fatigue, and vision issues, along with a general disruption in concentrating and everyday activities.
• Because the symptoms were occurring months from her fall, she did not correlate the two.
• She eventually went to the Health System, where a CT scan was done and the images showed a brain bleed.
• She had a minimally invasive procedure that halted the bleed.
• By March, the hematoma had almost completely dissolved.
• Her recovery included six weeks off of work and regaining balance and typing skills, but her prognosis is normal function.
• Janet emphasizes the importance of recognizing symptoms and seeking timely medical attention.

Dr. Koji Ebersol, director, Endovascular Neurosurgery, The University of Kansas Health System

• This is a common story – a slowly developing brain bleed that slowly presses on the brain, decreasing brain function slowly over time.
• A subdural hematoma is an accumulation of blood on the surface of the brain.
• When the accumulation gets to a certain size, it puts enough pressure on the brain that the symptoms will become more obvious and get more progressive. The symptoms can be subtle at first.
• The procedure we did to fix this was recently presented at an international conference to show the positive results of the trials, but we have been doing it successfully for five years and knew it was the right path for Janet.
• We are offering the procedure widely because it treats a problem that otherwise requires a brain surgery. If you can spare a patient from that, it’s very important.
• If you have a hit to the head and lose consciousness, you should visit the emergency room.
• But if you don’t lose consciousness, that bump to the head can still be dangerous and deserves monitoring.

Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 8 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. With the BRCA gene, we typically think of breast cancer or ovarian cancer, but the BRCA mutation can also affect men. Learn more about the genetic risk men face.

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