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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Safe Is To Travel By Air For Patients With Brain Bleed?

My daughter had a Cerebral Hematoma while in China, she is in a very good hospital in Shanghai - this happened a week ago, she is in a coma, some of it medically induced. The Drs. are trying to make arrangements to fly her back to Boston. Is it safe to fly after this type of brain bleed.
Mon, 21 Mar 2016
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Neurologist 's  Response
So sorry to hear about that terrible calamity. Do they know how the hematoma occurred? Was it traumatic? Obviously, her delicate state requires a lot of thought and reflection as to how best to transport her. I wouldn't be able to give you a fair answer unless I knew much more about her current condition as well as the cause. Are they keeping her induced in order to reduce metabolic needs of the brain or has she been seizing? It doesn't sound as if they've performed a craniotomy at this point. Have they evacuated the hematoma? If she is to be transported immediately then, the Air Evac plane must be capable of transporting an NICU patient of this type which is clearly a risk for such a long flight. Would it be nonstop? Based on the little information you've provided and if she is truly in a quality institution of care then, I would vote for a more conservative approach and allow her to step down from the ICU before trying to move her that far in an air ambulance. Too many things can happen on such a long flight that can upset her balance. If you'd like to discuss this further in the form of a specialty consultation please write to me at: www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi All the best.
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How Safe Is To Travel By Air For Patients With Brain Bleed?

So sorry to hear about that terrible calamity. Do they know how the hematoma occurred? Was it traumatic? Obviously, her delicate state requires a lot of thought and reflection as to how best to transport her. I wouldn t be able to give you a fair answer unless I knew much more about her current condition as well as the cause. Are they keeping her induced in order to reduce metabolic needs of the brain or has she been seizing? It doesn t sound as if they ve performed a craniotomy at this point. Have they evacuated the hematoma? If she is to be transported immediately then, the Air Evac plane must be capable of transporting an NICU patient of this type which is clearly a risk for such a long flight. Would it be nonstop? Based on the little information you ve provided and if she is truly in a quality institution of care then, I would vote for a more conservative approach and allow her to step down from the ICU before trying to move her that far in an air ambulance. Too many things can happen on such a long flight that can upset her balance. If you d like to discuss this further in the form of a specialty consultation please write to me at: www.bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi All the best.