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Neurologists
at Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City have successfully
used a new clot retrieval device to help reverse the damage
caused by a stroke in a 93-year-old woman.
The patient
went home completely recovered after spending only five days
at the hospital. The device, which is currently undergoing
clinical trials, could be an important treatment option for
those too risky because of age or recent surgery to receive
clotting-busting drugs known as tPA.
The hospital
is one of only five sites in the United States conducting
a clinical trial of the device, which uses a corkscrew-like
micro wire to snare and remove blood clots in the brain artery.
A catheter is inserted into the patient's groin and the wire
is threaded through the artery up to the brain.
Clot-busting
drugs must be administered within three hours after onset
of the stroke to avoid dangerous risks to the patient. With
the new Concentric Retriever System, providers have up to
eight hours after a stroke to perform the clot retrieval procedure,
increasing the number of patients eligible for treatment.
Dr. Marilyn
Rymer, neurologist and medical director of the stroke center
at the hospital, said the device "removes the blockage
just as you would remove a plug in your drainpipe."
Other
sites in the United States studying the new clot retrieval
device include UCLA, UC San Francisco, Emory and Columbia/Cornell.
Source:
Hypertension
Week of May 5, 2002
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