ABSTRACT
The assumptions for this chapter are the same as that for its companion, Chapter 25, Neurosurgery: that the reader has basic surgical skills but is not a neurosurgeon; he or she is practicing in a hospital with limited resources; neuroimaging such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are not readily available; and emergency transport to a neurosurgical facility is not an option. We will focus on the acute management of patients with cranial or spinal trauma, concentrating on those interventions that both can and must be done, and are likely to alter the patient’s outcome.
