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Is my friend's brain damaged in any way?


Q: I met a girl and during our conversation she said that due to an automobile accident, about 2 and half years ago, blood clots occurred in her brain. However, she said that they were removed and there is no problem now. I asked her whether there is any lingering injury or problem after the accident and she has said that there is none. What should I do or how do I know that she has not suffered any side effects like fits, headaches etc or any other symptoms like physical and functional disability?

A:The best way of assessing brain injury is the length of loss of memory after the accident. Often for patients this is the time they were knocked out (i.e. concussed). If there was no loss of memory after the accident then you can be assured there was no brain injury. Even if there was some memory loss then, she would have made a complete recovery now. To sum up, I am sure she has not been damaged by this accident.