Brain Injury Interventions, a lecture on Traumatic Brain Injuries offered by Richard S. Bailyn, M.D.

The only intervention for subtle brain injuries is rehabilitation. However, space occupying intracranial injuries are typically treated by a number of methods. Most of these procedures are performed to relieve pressure on the brain. Some of the most frequently performed procedures include the placement of intracranial pressure monitors (ICPs) and ventriculostomy tubes. ICP monitors are placed through a hole drilled in the skull and mea­sure the pressure within the skull. Ventriculostomy tubes are also placed through holes drilled in the skull, but the tube is then advanced through the brain tissue into one of the ventricles in order to relieve pressure.

In other cases "craniotomies" (creation of a hole in the skull) or "craniectomies" (removal of a por­tion of the skull) may be created to remove areas of hemorrhage or to allow swollen brain tissue protrude through the opening to relieve pressure.