Japanese pro boxer dead at 22 [Archive]

Joseph Svinth

11th April 2002, 06:48

See also "Be a Phoenix," Okinawa Times Online, April 6, 2002, http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/eng/20020406.html .

There were at least 10 ring deaths worldwide in 2001 (3 USA, 3 Indonesia, 2 South Africa, 1 Australia, 1 Japan). Looks like this year isn't going to be much different.

In the FWIW department, note that the Japanese count ring deaths differently than we do. By their way of tallying, a Japanese who dies in Guam is a Japanese boxing fatality, whereas a Korean who dies in Tokyo is not. However, if you count in the American way, meaning that anybody who dies in your town counts against you, regardless of where he's from, then it's Japan's 41st, and Tokyo's 33rd.

One of the most common causes of ring death is acute subdural hematoma. Risk factors (other than being hit in the head) include alcoholism, taking large doses of aspirin (it's an anti-coagulant), major dehydration (e.g., sweating off weight), and a history of successive minor concussions. Physical abuse as a child is also a possible risk factor, as sudural hematoma is common in abused children, and the damage is cumulative. Some medical websites, hard to read, but the clinical stuff: http://www.muhealth.org/~neuromedicine/subdural.shtml , http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic560.htm , http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00046702.htm ,http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2885.htm.

Mortality rate for acute sudural hematoma is in the range of 50%, and almost nobody recovers full function. Still, if discovered and operated on within 4 hours, rate of survival is much better than if you wait, as then mortality reaches 80-90%. Here's a citation about one they saved: "The torn vein in Maldonado's brain led to swelling that caused intracranial pressure. That cut off oxygenated blood flow to the brain, parts of which died. This brain injury left him with severe cognitive deficits, said Jason Dodson, one of his [Maldonado's] attorneys. His memory and his ability to understand simple commands and requests are affected. He has lost some vision in both of his eyes. Though he is able to walk and speak, his motor skills and balance are impaired, which affects his ability to walk." http://www.verdictsearch.com/news/specials/0204verdicts_ibarra.jsp ; see also http://brighamrad.harvard.edu/Cases/bwh/hcache/15/full.html and http://www.brain-surgery.com/subdural.html .

For a list of symptoms, see http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000713.htm . For how long one should take off from training/competition following an injury, see http://www.emedicine.com/sports/topic113.htm . For images of brains with various kinds of hematoma, see http://www.vh.org/Providers/Lectures/IROCH/IntracranialTrauma/IntracranialTrauma.html For brain injury in general, try http://www.headinjury.com/library.htm#learn .