Meet the Experts

Dr. Ligio Tavarez

Pediatric Emergency Physician with Baptist Children’s Hospital

Videos

Learning about Head Anatomy

Dr. Ligio Tavarez, Pediatric Emergency Physician with Baptist Children’s Hospital, explains the scalp has underneath a fibrous layer or muscular layer. "Going further in, there is bone, which is the skull, and then there are three membranes that wrap the brain." He also says most brain growth occurs in the first two years of life, and by age 60 it is already shrinking.

Overview of a Concussion

Dr. Ligio Tavarez, Pediatric Emergency Physician with Baptist Children’s Hospital, explains as the patient goes back and forth in a concussion, the brain hits the front part of the skull, and sometimes the back. "There is disruption. Sometimes when this happens the nerve cells suffer damage, and they are associations, smooth connections that are damaged." He also says the skull, the meninges, and the spinal fluid are the mechanisms of cushioning the brain.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Dr. Ligio Tavarez, Pediatric Emergency Physician with Baptist Children’s Hospital, says it is okay to let children fall asleep after a head injury, especially if the mechanism is not severe. "That power nap is important, because the rest helps in their recovery." Jennifer Couceyro, Advanced Registered Nurses Practitioner with Baptist Children’s Hospital, explains it is okay to let them take a nap in the absence of other concerning symptoms.

Head Injury in Children

Dr. Ligio Tavarez, Pediatric Emergency Physician with Baptist Children’s Hospital, explains the most frequent cause of head injury is a fall. He says other common ones are head injuries from banging into a wall or motor collisions, and also sports injuries. He points out there is a head injury called 'the Saturday Morning Injury' that happens when parents are tired from a long week at work, the infant is crying in the middle of the night and they bring them to the bed, and at 6:00 a.m. they fall.

Symptoms of Internal Head Injuries

Unconsciousness for more than a few seconds, abnormal breathing, obvious serious wound, bleeding or clear fluid from the nose, ear, or mouth, and disturbance of speech or vision are some of the symptoms of internal head injuries. Dr. Ligio Tavarez, Pediatric Emergency Physician with Baptist Children’s Hospital, explains to get an internal head injury the amount of energy transmission has to be more intense, and that can happen when you fall from a height, from a ladder or down the stairs, for example.

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