He decided to go to medical school for the same reason as most of his peers – to make a difference and save lives. What sets Dr. Ron Benitez, 37, a neurosurgeon from New Jersey apart from the rest is his determination to go above and beyond to help stroke victims.
Frustrated by the results he saw in patients who received the standard treatment for stroke, the clot-busting drug, Tissue plasminogen activator (TPA), he decided to try out a new procedure he had heard about, and was amazed by the results. With the Merci Retrieval System, developed by Concentric Medical of Mountain View, Calif., and approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004, the doctor maneuvers a device which resembles a corkscrew through a large catheter, up to the brain, to suck clots out of the body.
“I wanted to try it because conceptually it sounded like a good thing to be able to pull out larger pieces of clot. In my experience thus far, the results have been phenomenal,” says Dr. Benitez.
The system’s biggest advantage over TPA is it expands the treatment window significantly. While TPA must be administered within three hours after the start of symptoms to be effective, the Merci Retrieval System adds another two hours to the performance time.
A few extra hours ended up making all the difference for a 57-year-old New Jersey man Dr. Benitez treated recently. “He was at home when his stroke symptoms first appeared. He tried to convince his wife he could just sleep it off, but she insisted on dialing 9-1-1 which ultimately saved his life,” he says.
When the man was flown into the hospital, he couldn’t talk or move his right side. In the operating room, Dr. Benitez discovered an occlusion of an artery in his head. He used the Merci Retrieval System to extract a 3 centimeter piece of clot.
“The patient was in the hospital for six days and went home. He didn’t even require rehab,” says Dr. Benitez. “The anesthesiologist who worked the case with me went up to see him a few days later, and after having a conversation with him, came back to me with tears in his eyes and said, ‘I’ve been practicing medicine for 30 years and I’ve never been involved in a case that’s been as dramatic as this.
SIDEBAR
Signs of Stroke
Dr. Benitez says it’s important for everyone to recognize the early signs of stroke. They include:
* Weakness or numbness on one side of body
* Loss of vision in one eye
* Difficulty speaking
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For more information about the Merci Retrieval System, you can contact Dr. Benitez directly. Log on to www.atlanticneurosurgical.com or call (973) 285-7800. - ARA
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