Is temporal bone fracture serious?

Temporal bone fracture is actually not that serious. Even if it occurs, it can get better quickly as long as the right medicine is taken. However, you must pay attention to rest, which is the fastest way to make the fracture better. During this period, you can also inject some antibiotics into your body. These can prevent yourself from getting some infection and aggravating your symptoms.

For patients with this disease, the first thing to do is to follow the principles of craniocerebral surgery, including lying still, resisting shock, and receiving intravenous infusion of intracranial pressure-reducing drugs. At the same time, symptomatic treatment should be given according to the patient's clinical manifestations, mainly including the following points:

1. For those with eardrum damage, use treatment and avoid medication or flushing.

2. People with cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea should not have their ear canals blocked.

3. A large amount of antibiotics should be given to prevent intracranial infection;

4. For those who do not recover for a long time, meningeal repair surgery will be performed after the condition improves.

5. If acute suppurative otitis media occurs in the affected ear, mastoidectomy should be considered to allow for smooth drainage to the outside.

6. For patients with vestibular symptoms, sedatives should be given.

7. For patients with facial paralysis, facial nerve exploration should be considered after the condition stabilizes.

8. For patients who suffer only from conductive hearing loss, traumatic ossicular chain disruption should be considered, and tympanoplasty can be performed later to improve hearing.

Treatment options

1. Temporal bone fractures often occur in craniocerebral trauma, and when treating them, attention should be paid to the main issues that threaten the patient's life. If the airway is kept open, tracheotomy should be performed if necessary to improve intracranial hypoxia, control bleeding, and provide timely fluid replacement or blood transfusion to prevent hemorrhagic shock. Maintain the normal function of the circulatory system. If symptoms of increased intracranial pressure or persistent bleeding in the external auditory canal occur, the possibility of rupture of large blood vessels such as the middle meningeal artery or sigmoid sinus should be considered, and a neurosurgeon should be consulted to jointly rescue the patient.

2. Use antibiotics and other drugs in a timely manner to prevent intracranial ear infections and pay attention to ear disinfection. If the patient's general condition permits, blood or dirt in the external auditory canal should be removed under strict aseptic operation. If there is cerebrospinal fluid otorrhea, do not pack the external auditory canal. Just place a sterilized cotton ball at the opening of the external auditory canal. Most otorrhea can stop on its own. If it has not stopped after 2-3 weeks, if the condition permits, the temporalis muscle or fascia can be used through the ear to cover the defect in the meninges to control cerebrospinal fluid leakage.

3. If the injury is not fully understood, skull base X-rays and CT scans, neurological examinations and ear examinations should be performed after the general condition stabilizes or improves. If there are sequelae such as tympanic membrane perforation, ossicular rupture, conductive hearing loss or facial nerve paralysis, tympanoplasty or facial nerve surgery can be performed at a later stage.