TERAMO. From doctor to patient, from man who saves lives to man whose life is saved. This is what happened to a 67-year-old man, a retired doctor (formerly also from the local health authority) who arrived at the Mazzini emergency room a few days ago with an acute cerebral stroke. Immediately subjected to radiological investigations, a hyperacute thrombosis of the extended right internal carotid artery was found on Angiotac. In simpler words, a probable brain stroke. The story is told in a note from the Teramo Local Health Authority.
Acute complete carotid occlusion can usually lead to severe physical deficits with loss of consciousness and other complications. In the most serious cases, acute occlusion of the internal carotid artery can also cause ischemia of the autonomic centers with sudden cardiocirculatory arrest which in a short time can even lead to death.
“Thanks to the efficiency of the stroke path, the patient was immediately taken to the angiography room where the specialists of the interventional radiology operating unit quickly conducted the necessary maneuvers to unblock the internal carotid artery with a thrombo-aspiration system and recovery of the thrombus by carrying out only one femoral arterial access. Specific dedicated catheters were used to study the vessels in the neck and the intracranial circulation”.
The post-operative and 24-hour control CT scans immediately demonstrated a favorable evolution of the picture. In the following week the patient was discharged from the Neurology and Stroke unit, without significant clinical results.
“The patient, who was also one of our doctors, returned to his family in more than good conditions. His story is emblematic of the value of good public healthcare and the importance of the people who work there, dedicating their existence with a spirit of sacrifice and self-sacrifice to the care of others. This story has even more value because he himself, who worked every day to save lives, benefited from the high professionalism of his colleagues and the good organization of our healthcare system”, states the general director of the ASL, Maurizio Di Giosia.
