The surgical option for patients suffering from stroke used to be limited to traditional open surgery. Advances in radiology have made it possible for specially trained neurosurgeons, called endovascular neurosurgeons, to make repairs from within blood vessels using catheters and guide wires.
"With the advent of interventional radiology techniques, we're finding more ways to get to places that were hard to get to with surgery and we can get to them very quickly, which is critical for treating a patient who might be having a stroke," says Dr. Grahame Gould, one of the members of the stroke team at Upstate University Hospital. He is glad to be able to offer both approaches, since minimally invasive procedures are not necessarily the best option for all patients with neurovascular diseases, including stroke.
Also this week: the new medication designed to boost a woman's libido, plus an underage drinking update from a program coordinator at the Prevention Network of Central New York.
