Bilateral Subacute Subdural Hematomas

The New England Journal of Medicine ran a short piece about a man who presented with some not so serious symptoms which rapidly turned into something major. Interestingly his initial injury was four weeks prior to presenting to the ER with little to no symptoms, although I think anyone who loses consciousness should seek treatment. His headache started two days before the visit.

If you look at the images you can clearly see the bleeding in his brain. It's astonishing that he didn't have major problems sooner and it's even more astonishing that it didn't show up on the initial scan. Thank goodness his medical providers kept looking for the source of his symptoms.

I feel bad that he had to have four burr holes, two on each side of his head. That makes it very hard to sleep because there isn't any comfortable way to rest your head. Still, it's certainly better than the alternative.