The Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) has validated a new technique for treating Cerebral Vascular Accident (stroke): “mechanical thrombectomy”. An innovative and revolutionary technique, but still underused by doctors.
Each year in France, 150,000 people are victims of a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), or one every 4 minutes. Contrary to popular belief, all ages are concerned, since some 1000 children are also affected. According to Public Health France, stroke is the leading cause of death in women, ahead of lung cancer, with 18,343 deaths recorded in 2013, and the third in men (13,003 deaths).
Early treatment after a stroke limits the severity of the sequelae. Hospitalization in a neurovascular unit is therefore largely justified. The High Authority of Health (HAS) As such, has just validated a new rescue technique: “mechanical thrombectomy”.
Overview of Mechanical Thrombectomy
To understand this gesture, let’s remember what a stroke is. Also called “cerebral attack”, it corresponds to the obstruction or rupture of an artery in the brain. Today, the management of acute ischemic strokes is based on intravenous thrombolysis, which must, to be effective, be carried out as quickly as possible (4:30 after the appearance of the first signs). This act consists of injecting a product that will break up the clot obstructing the artery and allow blood to circulate again.
Mechanical thrombectomy consists of extracting the clot mechanically, with a specific medical device. The HAS thus recognizes “the effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy when it is performed within 6 hours of the onset of symptoms, either immediately in association with intravenous thrombolysis, or as a recourse after failure of treatment with intravenous thrombolysis, either alone in the event of contraindication to intravenous thrombolysis “, emphasizing that” this technique brings a benefit in terms of autonomy and improves the quality of life in the long term “.
Thrombectomy allows the removal of a blood clot via catheters: these are inserted at the level of the thigh and go up to the brain via the blocked artery. At the end of the catheter is a kind of stent, that is to say a kind of clot trap formed of metal mesh. After 3 minutes, the catheter is withdrawn, taking the clot with it. This step is the most delicate of the intervention.
A technique that requires “a lot of technicality”
What are the symptoms of a stroke?
Sudden or unilateral drop in vision,
Disturbance of the sensitivity of a limb or a side,
Speech disorder, difficulty in expressing oneself, in articulating,
Sudden loss of balance, dizziness, unsteadiness when walking, difficulty coordinating movements
Difficulty in understanding
Sudden and intense headaches,
Chest pain, shortness of breath, altered mental state, nausea.
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