Trepanation?

Question

don't people die eventually, after the operation of trepanation ?

i heard that still today in Africa , they perform it , is it true ?

i'm doing a science project on trepanation, and was wondering , do they drill in any area of the skull or do they have specific areas which cures ?

Answer 1

I'll just add on to the previous answer that there are specifiv areas where trepanation is done, a hole cannot be made just anywhere, people do not die becaus there's a special diagram which the neurosurgeons know by heart, and all medical students must know-It shows the traversing meningeal arteries, the main vessels supplying the brain at various positions.

Its aim is to reduce pressure on the brain tissue, lift a depressive fracture of the skull, or remove a blood clot in the brain. If there's concussion with depression of the skull bone, that depressed area can be lifted or removed and then the clot underneath can be removed.Usually this happens in case of head trauma.

Answer 2

trepanation is still widely used in modern medicine for relief of pressure due to epidural and subdural hematomas.  it's also used to place icp (intracranial pressure monitors)