My name is Wanda, my husband of 29 years underwent open heart surgery in April 05. Immediately in recovery he noticed so vision problems. Later in the day he had lost his peripheral vision along with flashes of lights and geometric figures. He also showed confusion. I asked for a nuero consult fearing a stroke and was told that it was the anithesia, pain medication, etc. After 2 1/2 days of begging and pleding the thoracic surgeon on call argeed to order a CT which showed an acute infarct in the right occipital lobe. I have been told that a procedure called merci retrieval may have been an option for my husband and there was a posibility we could have prevented the increase of damage. Does any one have knowledge of the Merci Retriever and can you tell me if this was an option for my husband. open the windows for stroke patients. http://www.theuniversityhospital.com/healthlink/archives/articles/stroke.htm
Thank you for addressing my question. Wanda
Wanda,
I hope your husband is doing better and improving every day. I'm so sorry to hear of the stroke post-surgery.
It is impossible for me to guess at whether the fairly new technique would have been successful or not. However, you must take into account that your husband was barely recovered from major surgery when the stroke occured. I doubt that a stroke would have even shown up on a CT scan earlier. Possibly, it may have been discovered through an MRI but not a CT. Usually stroke symptoms occur before a confirmed diagnosis can be made.
There are risks with surgery and stroke is, sadly, one of those risks. Also, I doubt if your husband would have been a candidate for the Retreval surgery as his medical condition was probably stable but guarded post-surgery.
The Retreval System is fairly new and comes with many high risks too. And it depends on where in the brain the stroke occurred. If the stroke was caused by a bleed the Retreval System would and could not have been used.
I know that your angry right now. I was too when I had a stroke at 42-years old. I was in the hospital when I had a second stroke. Anger is a natural reaction when you think that some one else could be at fault. When you NEED someone to blame for unfortunate circumstances. You, and your husband, are going through a grieving process trying to put every puzzle piece of the past back together again. Your journey of recovery will begin with one step. Do it together. Do it with your medical staff instead of making them the enemy. Work with them to chart a course for you husbands continued recovery.
Cleo Hutton
Stroke Expert