Emergency medical care

A neurological emergency is a sudden change in the brain, spinal cord, or a nerve that can cause lasting effects if you wait for an appointment. This page describes what a neurosurgeon assesses when the person is already in a Mexico City hospital. It does not diagnose by message and does not replace the 911 or the emergency department.

If strength, speech, vision, or consciousness changes suddenly, the right place is the emergency department. Calling 911 or transporting the person avoids losing time at an office without a CT scanner or resuscitation bed. WhatsApp is for scheduling follow-up after the condition has been addressed, not for deciding whether to transport someone.

These signs should be evaluated in a hospital, even if they began recently or the person “feels better” a few minutes later:

• Weakness or numbness on one side of the face, arm, or leg.

• Sudden difficulty speaking, understanding, or seeing out of one eye or on one side of the visual field.

• The worst headache of your life, especially with vomiting, neck stiffness, or fainting.

• A seizure lasting more than five minutes, or several seizures without returning to the person's usual state.

• A head injury followed by increasing drowsiness, repeated vomiting, or one pupil that looks different from the other.

• Fall with neck or back pain and leg weakness: do not move the person.

In the emergency department, the airway is protected, blood pressure is measured, and a CT scan distinguishes bleeding, infarction, and traumatic hematoma. The neurosurgeon becomes involved in the decision if there is compression, a ruptured aneurysm, acute hydrocephalus, or bone threatening the spinal cord. Surgery is reserved for cases where imaging and examination show a problem that worsens with time—not as an automatic response to every deficit.

A migraine cannot be distinguished from a hemorrhage over the phone, and a thrombolytic, anticoagulant, or surgery cannot be prescribed that way. If you have already left the emergency department with a diagnosis and want a second review of the plan, this can be discussed at a consultation with the report and, if possible, the disc or link to the imaging study. A remote opinion does not replace an examination or authorize discharge.

Does a brief faint always lead to surgery? No. Syncope followed by complete recovery is often cardiac or vasovagal. It is more concerning if a deficit remains, there was a seizure or injury, or the person takes anticoagulants.

Can I come to the office if the symptom has lasted several hours? If you still have a new speech, strength, or vision deficit, or the worst headache, go to the emergency room even if some time has passed. Some treatment windows become shorter, but hospital evaluation remains the first step.

Does emergency surgery prevent lasting effects? It may reduce pressure from a hematoma or acute hydrocephalus. It does not restore tissue that has already been damaged. The course depends on the cause, timing, and prior health; no outcome can be promised.

If you have already been treated at a hospital and want to review the plan with a neurosurgeon in Mexico City, message +52 55 2193 8191 and include the diagnosis you were given. If you are experiencing symptoms now, call 911 or go to the emergency department.