Rolling Stone Keith Richards Has Brain Surgery
May 9, 2006; updated May 13, 2006

Keith Richards, guitarist from the bank The Rolling Stones, had surgery in a New Zealand hospital to relieve pressure on his brain. The New Zealand Herald newspaper (May 8, 2006) reported that Mr. Richards (62-years-old) fell from a coconut tree and hit his head while vacationing in Fiji on April 27, 2006. The fall is thought to have caused a subdural hematoma.

A subdural hematoma results from bleeding under the dura mater, the outermost layer of the meninges that is located between the brain and the skull. Bleeding under the dura can cause increased pressure within the skull and displace the brain. Blood flow to parts of the brain may also be reduced and a patient with a subdural hematoma may have a stroke (brain attack).

A patient with a subdural hematoma may require surgery. This surgery requires doctors to open the patient's skull and make an incision into the dura. The surgeons then remove blood clots and control bleeding.

The New Zealand Herald reported that Mr. Richards' condition was serious. However, on May 13, 2006, Richards was released from the hospital and is now recuperating.


Hear IT!
Subdural hematoma Meninges Dura

Reference:

Beston, A., Keith Richards had brain surgery in NZ, The New Zealand Herald, May 8, 2006.

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