This World Stroke Day, neurologists are shifting focus to Mechanical Thrombectomy for treating strokes in large vessels that is deemed safer and effective

MT is a procedure similar to emergency angioplasty, where in a catheter is inserted into a major blood vessel within the thigh or wrist, navigated to the brain to remove the clot blocking vessels

Strokes due to large vessel occlusion or blockages in the brain constitute up to 30% of all acute ischaemic strokes. These strokes in large vessels are responsible for a significant proportion of permanent stroke-related disability.

If till recently, the focus of all emergency stroke-related interventions were clot-busting therapy or thrombolysis, only a fraction of patients who reach hospitals within the critical window period of 4-4.5 hours were eligible for this therapy.