Bobbie Laird
When she arrived by ambulance at Loyola’s emergency room, Bobbie Laird was suffering from a life-threatening stroke, which was triggered by a nearly half-an-inch-long blood clot in her brain. She was paralyzed on her left side, disoriented and losing consciousness.
John Whapham, MD, of Loyola University Health System was able to stop the stroke in its tracks. He used a catheter device that broke up the clot and suctioned the debris.
Fortunately, Bobbie arrived within the three-hour time window when treatment is most effective. She was treated with tPA, an intravenous clot-busting drug. There was a slight improvement -- she moved her arm a little bit -- but the improvement was temporary. So Bobbie was taken to the catheterization lab.
Dr. Whapham inserted the catheter device in an artery in her groin and guided it up through blood vessels to her brain. He deployed a tiny agitator, which broke up the clot, then suctioned the debris through a thin tube. The procedure succeeded in restoring blood flow.
The Food & Drug Administration has approved the catheter device for removing brain clots in carefully selected patients.
Dr. Whapham said Bobbie's case illustrates the importance of calling 911 immediately at the first signs of a stroke. "Time is brain," Dr. Whapham said. "You have less time to waste with a stroke than you do with a heart attack."
Catheter technology, originally developed for heart surgery, has been modified for narrower and more challenging blood vessels in the brain. "There has been a huge evolution in devices over the last five years," Dr. Whapham said. "Technology is getting better by the week."
Bobbie has made a nearly complete recovery from what could have been a fatal stroke. "I'm feeling good," she said.
For more information or to make an appointment with one of our highly trained stroke specialists, please call (888) LUHS-888.
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM
