Intracranial pressure monitoring

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Intracranial pressure monitoring

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If the procedure is done while you are under general anesthesia, you will feel nothing until you wake from the anesthesia. At that time you will feel the normal side effects of anesthesia, plus the discomfort of the cut made in your skull.

If the procedure is done under local anesthesia, you will feel a prick on your scalp like a bee sting as the local anesthetic is injected. You may feel a tugging sensation as the skin is cut and pulled back. You will hear a drill sound as it cuts through the skull. The amount of time this takes will depend on the type of drill that is used. You will also feel a tugging as the surgeon sutures the skin back together after the procedure.

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Your health care provider may prescribe mild pain medications for relief. You will not get strong pain medications, so that your doctor can check for signs of brain function.

This test is usually done to measure intracranial pressure. It is usually done when there is a severe head injury or brain/nervous system disease. It also may be done after surgery to remove a tumor or fix damage to a blood vessel if the surgeon is worried about brain swelling.

High intracranial pressure can be treated by draining CSF through the catheter. It can also be treated by changing the ventilator settings for people who are on a respirator, or by giving certain medicines through a vein (intravenously).

Review Date: 04/30/2011
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).