Mercy San Juan Medical Center's Comprehensive Stroke Center uses thrombectomy procedure to remove dangerous clots.

Melissa Logue, a 41-year-old mother, was taking her 3-year-old daughter to her room for a nap one afternoon last January when suddenly the right side of her body went numb and she couldn’t speak. Thankfully, her firefighter husband recognized that Melissa was experiencing a stroke. She was taken to Mercy San Juan Medical Center, a comprehensive stroke center, where Dr. George Luh, interventional neuroradiologist, Dignity Health Neurological Institute, performed a mechanical thrombectomy procedure on Melissa, which manually removed two blood clots from her brain. Today, Melissa is a stroke survivor with no disabilities.

Mechanical thrombectomy, using stent retrievers and extremely flexible suction catheters is a new advanced treatment for stroke that, combined with proper use of imaging to improve patient selection, is the treatment of choice for the removal of emergent large blood clots, according to five recent studies.

Sacramento Bee Health Care Reporter Claudia Buck interviewed Dr. Luh about this procedure, the high quality stroke care at the comprehensive stroke center, and the importance of recognizing stroke symptoms. She also interviewed Melissa Logue about her stroke, her recovery and her second chance at life.

Neurological Care 

Dignity Health Neurological Institute of Northern California is proud to be the region’s leader in neurovascular care, treating the highest volume of neurovascular patients in the area. Our renowned team includes neurologists, neurosurgeons, neurointerventional radiologists and neurocritical care specialists.

Comprehensive Stroke Center

Mercy San Juan Medical Center is the only hospital north of the Bay Area to earn The Joint Commission’s new advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center certification, recognizing the hospital for its ability to treat the most complex stroke cases and provide 24/7 access to neurology, neurosurgery, neurointerventional radiology, and neurocritical care. The new certification also reflects the hospital’s capabilities and investments, particularly related to:

• Vascular neurosurgery services
• Use of advanced imaging technologies to diagnose and treat stroke patients
• Ongoing stroke-related research and commitment to public education of stroke
• Participation in clinical trials
• Existence of a dedicated neurointensive care unit