On April 13, Mr. Hung, a 66-year-old man, was rushed to Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City after suffering a stroke. Upon admission, he exhibited symptoms such as a distorted mouth, slurred speech, weakness on the left side of his body, and difficulty walking. Due to the severity of his condition, the hospital immediately activated the “Code Stroke” process, which prioritized human resources and machinery for stroke emergencies.
The doctors ordered a cerebral computed tomography angiography (CTA) to determine the extent of the damage. The results revealed that Mr. Hung’s right internal carotid artery and middle cerebral artery were occluded due to a blood clot. To remove the clot causing the blockage, Dr. Hoan from the Neurointerventional Unit at Tam Anh General Hospital inserted a microscopic catheter into Mr. Hung’s femoral artery and navigated it to reach the location of the clogged blood vessel in his brain.
After removing the thrombus with intravenous thrombolysis in the imaging room, Mr. Hung’s cerebral blood vessels were reopened before being moved to the vascular intervention room for further treatment. Dr. Hoan noted that Mr. Hung’s case was challenging due to severe narrowing of the artery in his neck and large blockage caused by a blood clot in his brainstem. To address this challenge, Dr. Hoan had to dilate the balloon or place a stent at the site of narrowing before removing the clot causing blockage in Mr. Hung’s brainstem area using endovascular thrombectomy surgery.
One day after undergoing surgery, Mr. Hung began showing improvement in movement on his left arm and leg but continued rehabilitation treatment while undergoing screening for risk factors that could increase his chances of recurrent strokes.
Dr. Suong Tuyet from Tam Anh General Hospital’s Department of Neurology emphasized that early diagnosis and timely treatment are crucial for preventing neurological sequelae from occurring after a stroke.
She also highlighted two main treatment methods for acute ischemic stroke: fibrinolytic drugs and endovascular thrombectomy, which may be combined for optimal results.
Additionally, Dr. Suong emphasized that preventive measures should be taken seriously as younger individuals are increasingly experiencing strokes due to an increasing prevalence of hypertension and smoking habits among young people.
In conclusion, timely treatment is crucial for revascularizing brain tissue following a stroke as time is critical when dealing with acute ischemic strokes like what happened to Mr. Hung’s case at Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on April 13th
