At the time of my bleed the surgeon drilled a burr hole in my skull to relieve and monitor the pressure in my brain. (this is what I have been told-I don't remember much of my hospital stay) That was about 14 months ago. Although the scalp has healed perfectly I can still feel the indent of the burr hole. My question is, will the skull repair itself and if so, approximately how long does this take? If any can give me their opinions/expertise I would appreciate it.
I was told 12 months but im only 1 month post surgery so can’t say for sure. I have a few holes from a craniotomy and they said the scull part (just the bone itself not the burr holes) would take 12 weeks.
Thanks for your response.
I did not have a craniotomy. I'm not sure if I have decribed it properly. The burr hole I am referring to is thru the skull/bone into the voids of the brain.
I was told that a tube was inserted into a void which allowed the fluid to flow in/out to relieve the pressure. A bag was at the end of the tube. I was not allowed to raise from the hospital bed without the a nurse to raise the bag. My head was not allowed to be above or below the bag. When it was described to me it sounded similar to syphoning gas; once it got started, lower the container to fill, raise it to stop.
Although it doesn't hurt and no one can see it. I can still feel the indent which has not filled in yet after 14 months. I've had other broken bones that have not taken this long to repair themselves fully. But then again I alittle older now.
Sorry I tend to ramble...Good luck to you.
Hi djs,
While it may seem odd that a broken bone would heal more quickly than a bone that had been cut or drilled in surgery, it actually makes quite a bit of sense. The body is typically pretty good at repairing itself, but keep in mind that the body was not created to be cut or drilled into.
Let's say a person breaks their arm and a doctor puts on a cast for a couple of months. The bone probably had a somewhat jagged edge on both sides of the break, but chances are that all of the bone tissue is still there, and the two pieces can fit together somewhat like pieces of a puzzle. This results in a relatively short healing process. By contrast, if for some reason they had to perform surgery on the other arm and it required cutting the bone in half, this would leave a fairly smooth surgace on both parts of the bone, as well as leave a thin slice of the bone tissue missing because the width of the saw blade thatw as used to cut would have removed some of the tissue. Because of this, it is more difficult for the bone to re-attach to itself and ends up taking longer to heal.
I had a craniotomy and they had to temporarily remove a section of my skull. At the end of the operation, they used three bolts and a "speed flap" disk to holdd the removed section in place while it healed. I could feel the cuts in my skull and a couple of the bolts for at least a couple of years after my surgery. At a few various times over the span of about 3 years, the bolts felt as if they had become loose and I would often hear them clicking while I walked, and could even press on one of them and it would make an odd sound which could even be heard by people around me... It really creeped them out! My surgeon said that this was due to the bone healing. When the skull fused, it took pressure off of the bolts and caused them to be a bit loose, which I feared would be this way for the rest of my life. But eventually the bone grew enough that it partially covered the bolts and kept them firmly in place.
It was a long, frustrating and somewhat gross few years, but it eventually passed. At the same time, there are a couple of places where I can feel the raised area where the bolts are, but the only time I really notice is if I have a headache and start rubbing the area.
I didn't even think to ask about. I feel the lump though.
I had a shunt put in....I am not familiar with a burr hole
Sorry Jake M and all for not responding before now. I have been side-tracked lately. Since I work on a computer for 8 hours a day, I just can't bring myself to log on when I get home. Jake M: your explanation makes sense. Never thought that about the difference between aa accidental break and 'man-made' hole. I guess it just need more time to heal fully.
I can't imagine hearing the rattling of the hardwere in there. I have enough with the constant noise, let alone that.
Take care all...Dinner's on!!!