Page 3 - PeaceHealth | Southwest health | May/June 2013
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FOR DECADE S , P EACEHEA LTH SOUTHWE S T HAS
been providing lifesaving care for stroke victims. But since
May of last year, the stroke team has been offering patients
a new technology that can reverse or minimize the injury
that occurs during a stroke. SOLITAIRE™, which was
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
in 2012, is among a new generation of devices termed
stentrievers
. PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center
is the only hospital in southwest Washington to offer
SOLITAIRE™ as a treatment option.
Brain damage from an ischemic stroke occurs when a
blockage in a blood vessel impedes the delivery of oxygen
to the brain. Sarice Bassin, MD, Director of the Stroke
Program at PeaceHealth Southwest, explains, “When
brain cells are starved of oxygen, they quickly start dying.
However, if the flow of blood can be promptly restored,
permanent damage to the brain can be significantly
reduced or, in some cases, completely avoided.”
SOLITAIRE™ reestablishes blood flow by first creating
a bypass of the blocked vessel and then removing the
clot itself. “By utilizing both the stent and the retriever
technologies in one device, blood flow is restored much
faster than with some of the previously available products,”
says George Shanno, MD, Director of Neurointerventional
Services at PeaceHealth Southwest. SOLITAIRE™ can be
used alone or in combination with medications designed
to break up clots.
A total of 23 patients have been treated at PeaceHealth
Southwest Medical Center with SOLITAIRE™, with very
encouraging results. Dr. Bassin says, “We have spent the
last year optimizing our stroke protocol so that we know
within minutes of arrival to the emergency department
who is a candidate for SOLITAIRE™ and our other stroke
treatments.” This underscores the extreme importance
of calling 911 immediately when signs and symptoms of
stroke are noticed.
TIME IS BRAIN!
Brain & Spine Center
360-514-3273
CALL 911
IMMEDIATELY
FOR THE SUDDEN
ONSET OF THESE
STROKE SYMPTOMS:
Trouble speaking/
confusion
Face, arm, or leg
numbness/weakness
Difficulty walking/
feeling dizzy
Trouble seeing
Severe headache
with no known cause
Sarice Bassin, MD
PeaceHealth Medical Group
Neurology
505 NE 87th Ave., Suite 460
Vancouver, WA 98664
360-514-7771
Make strides
to fight
heart disease and stroke
Join a team today to participate in the annual
3-mile Heart & Stroke Walk,
Saturday, May 18 at
8:30 a.m. at Vancouver Landing
.
Be part of the action at this year’s Heart &
Stroke Walk to benefit the American Heart
Association’s research to fight heart disease.
Join a PeaceHealth Columbia Region team at
New
hope
for stroke
George Shanno, MD
Rebound Orthopedics and
Neurosurgery
200 NE Mother Joseph
Place, Suite 300
Vancouver, WA 98664
360-256-8584
MAKE A MENTAL
NOTE TO...
Know your numbers. Brain health is
connected to heart health. Learn your
cholesterol numbers, blood pressure
numbers, and blood sugar numbers.
Request a free Health Organizer to track
your numbers and medications. Visit
THE INSIDE VIEW: SOLITAIRE
™
device opening up blood vessel and removing clot.
