Russian tourist recovers from paralysis after stroke treatment in Ho Chi Minh City

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Huy Thang, head of the Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases at the hospital, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday that the patient was admitted nine hours after the onset of symptoms.

She experienced severe paralysis on the left side of her body, while brain imaging revealed extensive damage, with an Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) of 5.

Doctors performed a mechanical thrombectomy, a minimally invasive procedure that removes blood clots from blocked arteries.

Just four days after the intervention, the patient was able to walk again with almost normal mobility.

The hospital has also been treating a 25-year-old Vietnamese man who suffered a stroke caused by a basilar artery occlusion while traveling in Thailand.

He initially underwent mechanical thrombectomy at a private hospital in Bangkok, where hospitalization costs reached some VND80 million (US$3,050) per day, while the thrombectomy procedure cost several hundred million Vietnamese dong.

Despite receiving treatment in Thailand for nearly a week, the patient was transferred to the Ho Chi Minh City-based hospital in a critical condition.

He arrived in a deep coma, dependent on mechanical ventilation, and suffering from paralysis in all four limbs.

He remains under intensive medical care.

According to Dr. Thang, the two cases demonstrate that Vietnam has developed highly advanced expertise in mechanical thrombectomy while maintaining treatment costs that are considerably lower than those in many other countries.

Each year, interventional specialists at 115 People's Hospital perform thrombectomy procedures on nearly 1,300 stroke patients, a figure that ranks among the highest reported by major stroke centers worldwide.

Dr. Thang noted that mechanical thrombectomy performed within the first 24 hours after an acute ischemic stroke is now regarded as one of the most effective treatments in modern medicine.

The procedure has a ‘Number Needed to Treat’ of fewer than three, meaning that for every three patients treated, one additional patient is expected to regain functional independence.

Although only a limited number of stroke centers in Vietnam currently offer the procedure, far fewer than national demand, and its relatively high cost continues to restrict access in many developing countries, Vietnam has steadily expanded the number of patients benefiting from the treatment.

Vietnam's progress has also gained international recognition.

At the International Stroke Conference 2024, held in Phoenix, Arizona, the country received the Platinum Award from the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery for significant improvements in both the volume and quality of mechanical thrombectomy procedures performed for stroke patients.