Interventional Neurology is a subspecialty of Neurology for minimally-invasive treatment of diseases of arteries and veins of the brain and spine. With stroke, treatment is all about time windows. Once the time window for IV tPA has passed for an ischemic stroke (stroke caused by a blood clot in the brain) patient, he/she may be a candidate for an interventional neurology procedure in which blood clots are broken up manually by a physician rather than pharmacologically.

Interventional procedures are performed by University of Louisville Hospital’s two interventional neurologists:

• Dr. Alex Abou-Chebl
• Dr. Wei Liu

Drs. Abou-Chebl and Liu have the ability to treat patients after the three-hour treatment window has passed. Using the most advanced technology at University Hospital’s Stroke Center, they identify qualified patients whose strokes can be reversed – like Andrew Fisher.

If a patient qualifies, Drs. Abou-Chebl and Liu can use a number of different devices to go into the brain’s vessels and remove, break-up or pull out the blood clot causing the stroke. This type of specialized care from interventional neurologists is not available at many hospitals, but patients in Kentucky have access to the latest treatments in stroke care right here in Louisville.

In March of 2007, Dr. Abou-Chebl became the first physician in the state of Kentucky (and only one of a handful of physicians nationwide) to use a Food and Drug Administration-approved device that sucks blood clots out through a microcatheter.