Nair Hospital Second in City to Get Advanced Stroke Center

A comprehensive stroke center was opened at the civic-run Nair Hospital. This is the second civic-run hospital to be equipped with the advanced technology that will enable doctors to offer intervention up to 24 hours in select patients. On Wednesday, a similar state of the art center was inaugurated at KEM Hospital in Parel. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel carrying oxygen to the brain is either blocked by a clot or ruptures. In case of a clot, the time window to administer a clot-dissolving injection is 4.5 hours. In most cases, which come to the hospital beyond this window, doctors will be able to perform the thrombectomy procedure using the new Biplane DSA neuro machine to get a clear and better picture of the clot and the vessel. With its aid, doctors can reach the blocked vessel in the brain, using a wire, catheter and stent to extract the clot with the help of an aspirator.

The Nair Hospital center will be helmed by head of neurosurgery Dr Trimurti Nadkarni. It has also started a 24-hour stroke helpline — 022 03027000 — where the public can access the ‘stroke team’ consisting of neurosurgeons, neurologists, radiologists, and physiotherapists. “At present, this is one number where we can be reached. We are in process of getting a dedicated phone line as well,” said Dr Nadkarni. The hospital gets nearly four acute stroke patients every day but almost 60 percent patients seek treatment very late. “Once in the hospital, we will ensure that there is no delay. Our CT, MRI and now the new DSA machine are all on the ground floor. This will help a lot,” said Dr Nadkarni adding that the procedures will start in the next 10 days. – The Hindu