post craniotomy patient

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well, i had a post frontotemporoparietal craniotomy patient. and also had ARF type III secondary to HCVD secondary to post craniotomy. and now, has a left sided weakness. is also diabetic. and i probably will have to do a physical assessment later. so, i was hoping for any inputs on how i should prioritize the areas. her neuro function is okay. good PERRLA.

and also, about making a simple care plan for this patient and special precautions in handling this patient, i am also hoping to get ideas from anyone. thanks:thankya:

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Neuro function is definitely not okay if there is left sided weakness. That means that there is a deficit in the brain in the area that affects motor control. Where is the motor section of the brain? What else would you expect to see, or could possibly see? If you have left sided motor weakness, what else should you be looking for? They would be at risk for aspiration, as well as what else?

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my son has had several right frontotemporal craniotomies and did have left sided weakness post op. i do not think that it is uncommon to have motor weakness after surgery on the frontal lobe. my son's weakness subsided several days post-op and he needed pt for a few weeks.

i do not know much about care plans as i am not a nursing student yet. but i have some experience with craniotomy post-op care.

maybe this link may be helpful:

www.neurosurgery.com.au/pdfs/postop/postopcranipdf.pdf

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A complex case. I am assuming you are a senior. Do not get overwhelmed. With ABC's in mind, Step out of the room, take a breath, and think, what is the actual problem we are addressing, dealing with, intervening? Are you intervening in a way primarily to keep the person safe? How is the UO? No matter how complex the case, take your data, identify the prob, make a plan, and go from there. Alot of time the rest well fall into place. I would review your head to toe assessment and assess as much as possible. Gather data, highlight abnormals who cares what texts say at this time, this is your assessment. This makes it easy to identify actual problems requiring intervention. . Once you have a grasp of the individual case, then dive into the textbooks. Constantly referring to the textbooks and trying to understand the enormous amounts of text causes brain overload, and sometimes causes us to miss what is right before our eyes. Good luck.

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thanks a lot. btw, am a sophomore student. and yes, i can get too overwhelmed at times. anyways. thanks again:wink2:

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