Kurukshetra: An 82-year-old woman, who had arrived within 4 hours of suffering a brain stroke which had paralyzed the left side of her body, got a new lease of life at Fortis Hospital Mohali recently. Any delay in medical intervention could have proved fatal for the patient.
The team of doctors led by Dr Vivek Agarwal, Consultant, Neuro-intervention and Interventional Radiology, Fortis Mohali, used the most advanced treatment for stroke – Mechanical Thrombectomy –to treat the patient.
Mechanical Thrombectomy is a minimally-invasive procedure that involves inserting a catheter into the brain artery to remove the clot. This allows restoration of blood flow and saves a patient from disability or death by increasing treatment window for some brain stroke patients to up to 24 hours.
The patient was rushed to Fortis Hospital Mohali with symptoms of acute stroke as the blood supply to her brain’s right side had been blocked. She was also confused, disoriented and lacked coordination. Dr Agarwal performed Mechanical Thrombectomy on the Patient and removed the clot from her brain artery. Following good rehabilitation, her paralysis was treated and she was discharged four days after the procedure.
Shedding light on the case, Dr Agarwal, said, “Mechanical Thrombectomy is regarded as the gold standard treatment for brain stroke patients and timely intervention within the golden hour can save them from life-long disability or death.”
Elaborating on Fortis Mohali as a 24x7 Stroke-ready Hospital, Dr Agarwal, said, “Stroke patients should reach the hospital as soon as possible as every second counts. On an average, one Indian suffers a brain stroke every 20 seconds. Crucial time is wasted when patients reach healthcare facilities which are not well equipped with 24x7 comprehensive stroke care facilities. An average patient loses 1.9 million neurons every minute in untreated ischemic stroke which invariably leads to paralysis or death. Fortis Mohali is a 24x7 Stroke-ready Hospital and equipped with an expert team of neurologists, interventional neuro-radiologists, neuro-surgeons, emergency physicians, anaesthetists and physiotherapists that provide 24x7 stroke treatment such as thrombolysis, mechanical thrombectomy, stroke ICU care and rehabilitation”.
Dr Agarwal further added, “The aim is to raise awareness about Mechanical Thrombectomy as a treatment of choice for moderate to severe ischemic brain stroke. The procedure can save patients from long-term paralysis in a majority of cases.”