Question: Can a brain stem injury be reversed?




Dr. Hibberd's Answer:

Brain stem injuries vary from mild to severe. They may involve the vital life-sustaining areas of our brain, our cranial nerves and the central nuclei necessary for basic functions such as breathing, balance, temperature regulation etc. Without an intact brainstem, the upper level cognitive, emotional, sensory, motor and abstract functions of our cerebral hemispheres are gone. Brain stem structural injury is usually very serious, and aggressive life support measures are usually necessary initially. It is impossible to generalize all brain stem injuries, since some are recoverable, but often with accompanying defects. Conventional teaching said that brain injury is irreversible, but I have found that there are times when an apparently devastating injury has had a degree of recovery that cannot always be predicted.