Due to a lack of studies evaluating pneumocephalus, the exact prognosis for the patient remains unclear.
"The question in this fellow's case is, we don't know if, over time, more air is getting in than getting out, which would cause neurologic instability," Cohen said.
"You can get by pretty well with just a limited amount of cerebral cortex.
Sometimes, it gets reorganized, and nature is pretty clever in terms of finding ways to heal."