How long can a person be in a coma and still recover?

Comas can last from days to weeks while some severe cases have lasted several years. Recovery depends, to a considerable extent, on the original cause of the coma and on the severity of any brain damage.

What is Postanoxic encephalopathy?

Abstract. Delayed postanoxic encephalopathy is a rare condition in which patients appear to make a complete clinical recovery after an episode of anoxia or hypoxia but then develop a relapse characterized by apathy, confusion, agitation, and/or progressive neurologic deficits.

Can someone wake up from a coma?

People who do wake up from a coma usually come round gradually. They may be very agitated and confused to begin with. Some people will make a full recovery and be completely unaffected by the coma. Others will have disabilities caused by the damage to their brain.

Can you come out of a coma after 10 years?

Usually, a coma does not last more than a few weeks. Sometimes, however, a person stays in a coma for a long time — even years — and will be able to do very little except breathe on his or her own. Most people do come out of comas. Some of them are able to return to the normal lives they had before they got sick.

What is the longest recorded coma?

Elaine Esposito
Elaine Esposito (December 3, 1934 – November 25, 1978) held the record for the longest period of time in a coma according to Guinness World Records, having lost consciousness in 1941 and eventually dying in that condition more than 37 years later.

What is the longest coma ever woken up from?

Wallis’s wife, Sandi, and new born daughter, Amber, were left to question if they would ever see Wallis “alive” again. Their questions were answered on June 11, 2003, as, incredibly, Wallis awoke from his 19-year coma — making him the survivor of the longest coma on record, matched, in years, by only one other person.

How old was Elaine Esposito when she died?

43 years (1934–1978)
Elaine Esposito/Age at death
Elaine died later that year at the age of 43 years 357 days, having been in a coma for 37 years 111 days. Esposito’s story was brought back into attention in the late 1990s and early 2000s in the controversy surrounding the case of Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative state.

What is Coma (Coma)?

Coma is usually a transient condition that evolves to either wakefulness or death over days to weeks. Relatively recently, a minimally conscious state (MCS) has been declared a separate clinical condition ( 2 ). A MCS is that of a severely altered consciousness.

What is the prognosis for anoxic brain damage?

Prognosis for Anoxic Brain Damage. Recovering from anoxic brain damage is difficult. Many factors contribute to the degree and rate of recovery. The amount and kind of brain damage is a critical factor; anoxic brain injury can be mild, moderate, or severe.

How long did Edwarda O’Bara stay in a coma?

Longest coma. Share. When Edwarda O’Bara died on 21 November 2012, she had survived 15,663 days (about 42 years) in a coma. Born in 1953, in Miami, Florida, O’Bara suffered a childhood history of diabetes, which she successfully managed with insulin.

What are the chances of a person recovering from a coma?

The chances of a person’s recovery depend on the cause of the coma, whether the problem can be corrected, and the duration of the coma. If the problem can be resolved, the person can often return to their original level of functioning.