Press Release

Source: Central Dupage Hospital

Geography Matters for Stroke Patient: Breakthrough Device at Central DuPage Hospital Stroke Center Removes Deadly Clot
Wednesday May 31, 2:20 pm ET

WINFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 31, 2006--Thanks to a new medical technology and the patient's proximity to the skilled hands of a interventional neuroradiologist, a 66-year-old Wheaton, IL man has fully recovered from a devastating ischemic stroke.

On May 6, he experienced classic stroke symptoms while gardening and was rushed to the Emergency Room at Central DuPage Hospital (CDH), a regional stroke center in Chicago's western suburbs. Two interventions with a clot-busting drug, t-PA, were given within three hours, but failed to work. Full paralysis set in and the patient needed assistance to breathe.

The new Merci Retriever device was used by Dr. Harish Shownkeen, one of the country's top interventional neuroradiologists. The device enabled Dr. Shownkeen to pull the clot completely out of the patient's brain, restoring blood flow. Almost immediately after awakening in the Intensive Care Unit, the patient was able to breathe on his own, speak, and was no longer paralyzed.

"This patient was very fortunate that his local hospital has access and experience in using the latest stroke care therapies," explains Henry Echiverri, MD, neurologist and CDH Stroke Program Director. "It is rare to find a community hospital with a full-time, interventional neuroradiologist and the technological infrastructure to support neurosciences. Unfortunately, most patients don't even receive t-PA, let alone advanced care such as the Merci Retriever."

The patient was discharged from the hospital in less than one week and is returning to a very active lifestyle. Without CDH's experience on the Merci device, he would have had no other treatment options.

"This is a real breakthrough in stroke care and one of the most dramatic medical comebacks I have ever witnessed," says Dr. Shownkeen, Director of Endovascular Surgical NeuroRadiology at CDH.

The patient adds: "I really thought that was it, but the immediate response from the fire department team and the fact that Central DuPage Hospital has access to this procedure saved my life."

Only a handful of stroke centers across the United States are fully trained in the use of the Merci Retriever, which was approved by the FDA late in 2004. The most common intervention for ischemic stroke, a clot-dissolving agent, tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), must be administered within three hours of the onset of symptoms. The Merci Retriever extends the treatment window up to eight hours.