Enhanced Thrombectomy service ‘completely reversed’ effects of stroke for Fran

At the beginning of October, 62 year old Frances Hughes from Chester found her left-hand-side paralysed, she had limited speech and was struggling to concentrate. Later, it was discovered that she had had a stroke and was subsequently treated by The Walton Centre through its’ enhanced 24-hour thrombectomy service, which covers Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales.

Frances said: “I woke up feeling fine but, when I tried to brush my teeth; I found I was doing it wrong and couldn’t think how to correct it. I then began to lose feeling in my left arm and leg and that’s when I knew I was in trouble.

Frances’ husband Bryan called for an ambulance which delivered her to the Countess of Chester Hospital’s Emergency Department. There, clinicians found a clot in the artery leading to her brain and they decided Frances needed urgent neurosurgical intervention. This resulted in being transferred quickly to The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust.

Frances continued: “When I arrived at The Walton Centre, there was a team of experts waiting to take me straight in for the thrombectomy. The Neuroradiologist was excellent at explaining the procedure to my son, who had arrived at the Countess and travelled with me in the ambulance to the Walton centre. He then felt confident in signing the consent forms.

“After I’d woken up from the procedure, it was like someone had clicked their fingers and I was back to normal again, I couldn’t believe it!”

Frances was transferred back to the Countess of Chester after the thrombectomy and discharged home after four days.

In relation to the care she received at The Walton Centre, she said: “I feel so lucky. The stroke could have happened at any point – when I was asleep, in the car, when I was on my own. I asked my son afterwards why he came with me in the ambulance. He said it was because he thought he might not see me again, it was that serious!                                                                                           

“The Walton Centre literally saved my life. I was in a bad way before getting the emergency thrombectomy. To go back to normal afterwards without any residual effects felt like a miracle. The staff were incredible. It is so important that we have a service like this literally on the doorstep in Liverpool.”

In October this year, The Walton Centre enhanced the Thrombectomy service to run 24 hours a day seven days a week, enabling hospitals in the region to refer to the service at any time. Thrombectomy is an innovative procedure which involves using guide wires and specialist equipment to remove blood clots from arteries and veins in the brain.

The Walton Centre’s Medical Director Dr Andrew Nicolson said: “I’m thrilled that the outcome for Frances was positive and that her experience here was exceptional. Being able to offer this specialist procedure 24/7 means a significant improvement in treatment for stroke patients in the region. This procedure is most effective for those who have an ischaemic stroke when the treatment is started as soon as possible after the initial symptoms. Working with our hospital partners across Cheshire and Merseyside has been essential to the successful implementation of this new service, and we hope it will continue to significantly change the outlook for stroke patients in our communities.”