PPH article details need for speed in brain trauma
Harrison Thorp
Editor's note: This is one of a series of stories produced by The Lebanon Voice highlighting the need for faster medical response times in West Lebanon and the need for better recognition of aneurysms by rescue personnel nationwide PORTLAND - Dr. Robert Ecker, a neurosurgeon at Maine Medical Center who operated twice on Martha Soto-Galicia after she suffered an aneurysm in February, is quoted in a Portland Press Herald story today saying about 60 percent of stroke victims can live independently 90 days after the event if surgery can occur within 4 ½ hours of the stroke's onset. Ecker's assertion underscores the need for speed in ambulance transport and the quick recognition by EMTs and paramedics that the patient is having a stroke. While a stroke is a condition that occurs when blood flow is cut off from the brain, a brain aneurysm is different, in that it occurs when a blood-filled balloon bursts. Ecker, in the Portland Press Herald article written by Joe Lawlor, did not describe the event-to-surgery time constraints for aneurysm, however. Ecker performed a surgery to coil the aneurysm on Soto-Galicia on Feb. 13, and inserted a shunt to expedite the drainage of blood from the brain about a week later. The sooner a stroke patient can make it to the hospital, the better chance doctors have to limit the damage caused by a clot, Ecker said in the article. If patients arrive at the hospital within three hours after having the stroke, and begin surgery within 4 ½ hours, their chances of recovery are greatly improved. Even if it's several hours later, the surgery can sometimes be helpful, depending on how much damage has been done to a patient's brain. Ecker said awareness is key - both for potential patients and doctors in far-flung areas. Early recognition is critical for aneurysms, too, according to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. "Early diagnosis is critical, as the initial hemorrhage may be fatal, may result in devastating neurologic outcomes, or may produce minor symptoms," according to their web site. "Despite widespread neuroimaging availability, misdiagnosis or delays in diagnosis occurs in up to 25% of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) when initially presenting for medical treatment. Failure to do a scan results in 73% of these misdiagnoses. This makes SAH a low-frequency, high-risk disease." Meanwhile, stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States, strokes claim 130,000 lives a year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Much of the PPH story focused on clot-busting tools that Ecker uses to remove clots in stroke victims that is considered ground-breaking. A story in Tuesday's Lebanon Voice detailed the need for mutual aid in parts of Lebanon that are far closer to Milton Rescue than Lebanon Rescue. To read today's full Portland Press Herald story click here. Below are some other facts and figures about brain aneurysms, according to the foundation.
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