Bypass Graft In Brain Aids Stroke Patient
A successful revascularization of the inner part of the brain, using a saphenous vein graft to bypass an occluded internal carotid artery, has been reported by William M. Lougheed, MD, neurosurgeon at the Toronto General Hospital.
The procedure, done on a 54-year-old female stroke victim, involved use of a specially-developed two-headed microscope, miniaturized instruments from Switzerland, and suture material as thin as a strand of cobweb. It also demanded a 12-hour operation, 3 1/2 hours of which were spent in anastomosing the graft to the artery.
The patient had total blockage of the right carotid artery leaving her with weakness on her left side. Dr. Lougheed notes that the internal carotid above the blockage was just a fibrous cord going all the way to the skull. In addition, a plaque buildup in her left carotid narrowed that vessel by 50%.
The operation involved
. . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
