Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffSome subdural hematomas don't need to be removed because they're small and produce no signs or symptoms. Diuretic medications may help control brain swelling (edema) after a head injury.
Surgery
Hematoma treatment often requires surgery. The type of surgery depends on the characteristics of your hematoma. Options include:
- Surgical drainage. If the blood is localized and isn't clotting excessively, your doctor may create a burr hole through your skull and use suction to remove the liquid.
- Craniotomy. Large hematomas may require that a section of your skull be opened (craniotomy) to remove the blood.
Recovery
After surgery, your doctor may prescribe anticonvulsant drugs to control or prevent post-traumatic seizures. These medications are continued up to a year after the trauma. Long-term anticonvulsant therapy may be needed if seizures continue. Amnesia, attention difficulties, anxiety, sleep problems and headaches may occur and continue for some time.
Recovery after an intracranial hematoma can be prolonged and may be incomplete. In adults, most recovery takes place within the first six months after the injury. Children usually recover faster and more completely than adults do.
- Traumatic brain injury: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tbi/detail_tbi.htm. Accessed April 3, 2011.
- Traumatic brain injury. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec21/ch310/ch310a.html#S21_CH310_T001. Accessed April 3, 2011.
- Smith ML, et al. Neurosurgery. In: Brunicardi FC, et al. Schwartz's Principles of Surgery. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2010. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=5020575. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- McBride W, et al. Intracranial epidural hematoma in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/index/home.html. Accessed March 22, 2011.
- Le TH, et al. Neuroimaging of traumatic brain injury. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine. 2009;76:145.
- Moulton RJ, et al. Head injury and intracranial hypertension. In: Hall JB, et al. Principles of Critical Care. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2005. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2297849. Accessed April 5, 2011.
Find Mayo Clinic on