Ahmedabad: 3.5-year-old suffers stroke, operated upon

A 3.5-year-old child who had suffered a stroke attack, resulting in paralysis on right side of his body, has been successfully operated upon in the city. Dr Snehal Patel, pediatric intensivist at KD Hospital, assessed the child as having right side hemiplegia and left sided facial palsy. Tests revealed that blood vessel supplying blood to the right side of brain was blocked, and brain cells had started showing signs of infarction.

"We performed mechanical thrombectomy to open up the artery. Movement in the right limb was evident soon after it. The child's muscular power and speech was restored within two days and he is now walking, speaking and even writing with his right limb (hand)," Dr Patel said. With just 1.2 to 2.7 cases per 1 lakh population, incidence of childhood stroke is very rare.