Edinburg, TX–– On the morning of Monday, June 20, 2016, Yvonne Wingard planned to start her day like any other. The day before, she travelled from Colby, Kansas to McAllen to visit her son, Dr. Michael Wingard and his wife. But, when she got out of bed, she realized her equilibrium was off, and could not move her left arm or leg. After falling to the floor, she shouted to her son Michael, who quickly called for an ambulance.
Mrs. Wingard was evaluated at the Doctors Hospital at Renaissance (DHR) Advanced Primary Stroke Center, and was rushed into surgery to remove the clot in her brain that caused a stroke. In a life-saving procedure, Dr. James Tatum, who is a Neurointerventional Radiologist, successfully performed the first thrombectomy in Hidalgo County on Mrs. Wingard.
The thrombectomy procedure is similar to one that is used to remove a clot from heart when an individual suffers from a heart attack. Using the advanced imaging technology available at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, a catheter is threaded through blood vessels and penetrates to the blood clot until it has completely passed through the blood clot. The catheter allows the physician to open up a stent in the vessel and the clot, allowing some blood to begin flowing through the vessels. Before removing the clot, the stent must integrate with the clot, which usually takes a matter of minutes. Once fully integrated, the catheter, stent, and clot are removed through the blood vessels, allowing full restoration of blood flow to the brain.
“Until now, we haven’t had these services available in Hidalgo County. So, before Mrs. Wingard, patients would have transferred to other facilities that have the ability to do this,” states Dr. James Tatum. Previously the closest facility was over 40 minutes away, costing precious time that patients could not afford. With the addition of Dr. Tatum to the DHR Medical Staff, and the addition of advanced imaging equipment and technology, it will no longer be required for patients to leave Hidalgo County to receive the care they need.
“We have been successful in increasing the number of stroke patients we are able treat at DHR,” states Dr. Gloria Mireles, medical director of the Doctors Hospital at Renaissance Stroke and Neurology program. “The addition of endovascular stroke procedures will expand the level of care we are able to provide our patients here at home. Stroke centers with comprehensive abilities are the best equipped to treat any kind of stroke or stroke complication. DHR is now ready to treat these challenging cases.”
The stroke center at DHR provides some of the fastest door to treatment times in the nation, providing patients with tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke. While tPA significantly reduces the effects of stroke and lessens the chance of permanent disability, there is a risk the blood clot will not completely dissolve. “The patients whose blood vessels do not completely open up with tPA are still going to be debilitated. Based on prior studies, patients who have completely open blood vessels have the best chance of recovery, and those that do not completely open, tend to do poorer,” states Dr. Tatum. But, with the ability to now perform thrombectomy procedures, patients in Hidalgo County have an even better fighting chance.
“I am truly blessed to have received such special care and be fully recovered. I do not think I will have to undergo any rehabilitation, which is unreal because due to the severity of my stroke, I could have been completely paralyzed on one side of my body. I am so thankful for Dr. Tatum and the team at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance for having this program available,” states Mrs. Yvonne Wingard. “It is so important to receive fast care in these situations before the loss of blood circulation in the brain causes too much damage. I credit my recovery to how quickly I was provided care at DHR.”
About Dr. James Tatum
Dr. Tatum joined the Doctors Hospital at Renaissance Medical Staff in May 2016. He attended Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he graduated with honors and was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He completed a general surgery internship at Exempla St. Joseph Hospital in Denver, Colorado and radiology residency training at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Tatum conducted a fellowship in Neuroradiology and Neurointerventional Radiology at the University of California San Francisco.
