Skull resconstruction immediately following traumatic brain injury worsens brain damage

Immediate skull reconstruction following trauma that penetrates or creates an indentation in the skull can aggravate brain damage inflicted by the initial injury, a study by a University of South Florida research team reports.  Using a rat model for moderate and severe traumatic brain injury, the researchers also showed that a delay of just two days in the surgical repair of skull defects resulted in significantly less brain swelling and damage.

The study was published March 16, 2012 in the online journal PloS ONE. University of South Florida