Cerebrovascular Center Specialists Use New Generation of Clot Removal Devices to Successfully Revascularize Stroke Patients

Specialists at Stony Brook Medicine’s Cerebrovascular and Stroke Center are using a new generation of blood clot removal devices to successfully revascularize stroke patients, including those with large blockages.  In cases where intravenous medications are ineffective or contraindicated, endovascular treatments using these new devices offer patients the most promise.

The Solitaire Flow Restoration Device and the Trevo device, approved by the FDA in 2012 to treat stroke caused by the sudden obstruction of a brain blood vessel (acute ischemic stroke), showed improved results over a previous standard clot-removal device in clinical trials.

The new devices are expandable wire-mesh systems that collapse and are delivered into the brain blood vessels through small flexible tubes (microcatheters), which are guided from the groin to the brain. The devices open at the site of the clot displacing the occlusion and immediately restoring blood flow to the brain. When the devices are withdrawn from the blood vessel, they take the clot with them, allowing the clot to be removed from the blood vessel.

“We have had excellent outcomes using these new devices,” said David Fiorella, DM, PhD, Professor of Clinical Neurological Surgery and Radiology at Stony Brook University School of Medicine and Co-Director of the Cerebrovascular Center. “In acute ischemic stroke, ‘time is brain,’ and in some cases just minutes matter. Restoring blood flow in an effective and timely manner is critical to the survival and recovery of stroke patients.” Dr. Fiorella has already performed some 30 procedures on stroke patients using the devices.

Henry Woo, MD, Co-Director of the Cerebrovascular and Stroke Center, and Professor of Neurological Surgery and Radiology, has also used both devices in patient procedures. By having the latest technologies to remove brain blood clots, and with the expertise to perform endovascular procedures, our Center remains on the cutting edge against this life-threatening condition,” said Dr. Woo.

Click here to watch “New FDA-Approved Clot Removal Devices Show Promise for Treating Stroke Patients.”

Caption:
Henry Woo, MD, and David Fiorella, DM, PhD