Quick Response Time by Aventura Neurosurgeon Reverses Patient Paralysis after Stroke

AVENTURA, FL (July 22, 2009) - Sixty-one-year-old Nora Olarte felt like her head was going to explode. Her body became numb, and she was fearful of having a stroke. She had reason to worry: stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability and the third leading cause of death according to the National Institutes of Health.

Olarte was rushed to Aventura Hospital's emergency room. Neurosurgeon Santiago Figuereo, M.D., who takes Emergency Department on-call duty at Aventura Hospital, was notified immediately and was even able to view Olarte's MRI scan from his computer at home. Dr. Figuereo is specially trained to quickly diagnose and treat patients who are brought to the Emergency Department with neurological crises and performs unique, state-of-the-art minimally invasive surgeries of spine and brain disorders not currently available in South Florida.

Dr. Figuereo knew he had to act quickly. Upon review of Olarte's MRI scan, he diagnosed a bleeding in Olarte's brain and had her prepped for emergency surgery to remove the blood clot from her brain.

"With emergencies involving the brain and spine - such as strokes or aneurysms it is essential that we respond quickly," said Dr. Figuereo. "Response time can mark the difference when cutting the risk of death or permanent disability. Many stroke patients don't get the chance to fully recover because they are not treated quickly enough."

Approximately every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke. There are two types of strokes: ischemic and hemorrhagic. An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain is blocked by a blood clot. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel bursts, causing blood to leak to the brain.

Some people, unknowingly, have malformations within the blood vessels of their brain, as in the case of Olarte. Blood vessel malformations very often go unnoticed and become symptomatic only when the damage occurs. By this time, the patient is usually at a critical level. A hemorrhagic stroke can be more deadly, and response time it key.

Olarte underwent two surgeries. The first emergency surgery was performed to stop the bleeding and remove the clot. Dr. Figuereo performed a second surgery to repair the malformation in the vessel. In many cases, patients are transferred to university-based medical centers to have malformations repaired. Fortunately for Olarte, Dr. Figuereo, who is a fellowship trained neurosurgeon, was able to perform a second surgery at Aventura Hospital to repair her vessel.

With both surgeries, instead of shaving Olarte's head, Dr. Figuereo was able to preserve Olarte's hair and maintain her dignity by using a unique procedure called craniotomy with hair preservation. This is done by carefully separating the patient's hair at the incision.

Experiencing brain surgery is an emotionally traumatic event for a patient," said Dr. Figuereo. "Craniotomy with hair preservation surgery was developed to minimize the aesthetic impact of baldness on the patient."

If Olarte's bleeding and tangled arteries were not caught and treated in time, she would have been permanently paralyzed. She is now completely recovered and living a normal life.

"I was having a stroke, and half of my body was paralyzed," said Olarte. "If it weren't for the quick response time of Dr. Figuereo, I could have been permanently paralyzed."

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About Miami Neurological Institute

Located in Aventura, Fla., Miami Neurological Institute offers minimally invasive, state-of-the-art procedures for disorders of the brain and spine. The Institute's founder and medical director, Santiago Figuereo, M.D., is a board certified neurological surgeon who brings unique techniques to the region, including craniotomy with hair preservation, minimally invasive spinal discectomy, and minimally invasive endoscopic techniques for intracranial, skull base, and pituitary tumors. He is highly skilled in the surgical management of movement disorders, including deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease and surgical procedures for epilepsy.

Prior to arriving in South Florida, Dr. Figuereo served as standing faculty and assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Neurosurgery Division Chief at the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Dr. Figuereo studied general surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia and his neurological surgery residency was completed at Loma Linda University Medical Center. He completed a neurosurgery fellowship at the University of Washington and a fellowship in functional neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania.

For more information, visit www.miamini.com or call (786) 623-2000.

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