HCA Florida Bayonet Point Hospital performs 500th Thrombectomy

Those who treat stroke patients all agree: time makes a difference. The quicker a patient suffering from a stroke can get treatment has a direct impact on the eventual outcome and that patient’s future quality of life. Equally important, according to Alison Fowler, director of Diagnostic Imaging and Non-Invasive Cardiology/Neurology Services at HCA Florida Bayonet Point Hospital, is getting the right treatment for stroke.

“We’re fortunate here at Bayonet Point Hospital to be able to perform thrombectomies,” Fowler explained. “The work we do here has a tremendous impact on our patient’s eventual return to a more normal life and that is our ultimate goal as caregivers.”

So, what is a thrombectomy? The National Institute of Heath defines a thrombectomy as “a mechanical interventional procedure by which a blood clot or thrombus is removed under image guidance using endovascular devices. Thrombectomy is most commonly used in acute cerebral ischemic stroke, although it is also a procedure used for clot removal in acute myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolism. Mechanical thrombectomy utilizes various techniques. Most commonly, it uses different catheter-based therapies, including stent-retrieval, direct aspiration or a combination of both.”

In layman’s terms, it is the removal of a blood clot that is restricting blood flow to a portion of the brain, and that’s where Bayonet Point Hospital’s Neuro-Interventional Services team comes in.

“Radiology has been around a very long time,” said Fowler. “As technology has gotten better, radiology has gotten better. In the case of treatment for strokes, thrombectomy procedures started in the early 2000’s and have progressed to where we are today.  If we can perform the procedure within a few hours of the stroke process we make a huge difference. Radiology enables the physicians to locate where the clot or clots are and get to the area more quickly and with greater precision than ever before. In short, radiology enhances the effectiveness of stroke interventions.”