Miami Neurologist Turns to Jackson for Stroke Care
Prominent neurologist, Raul Lopez, MD, has been practicing in Miami-Dade County for nearly 40 years. During this time, he’s performed countless examinations, conducted several procedures, and helped numerous patients.
Then last summer the tables turned, and suddenly he found himself in need of medical care.
“While driving to lunch, my wife asked me a simple question, but I stopped mid-sentence in my reply,” he says. “After parking the car, she repeated the same question, and again I was unable to completely answer her. It was then she realized I was having a stroke.”
Juanita Lopez immediately rushed her husband to the nearest emergency room.
“At first, I thought he wasn’t answering because he was distracted with all of the traffic,” says Juanita, a retired speech pathologist. “It was when I repeated my question and he still couldn’t finish his sentence that I knew something was wrong. My schooling and years of work experience helped me to determine he was suffering from expressive aphasia – the inability to verbalize – and I knew it was a stroke and that I needed to act fast.”
While being examined at a local hospital, Dr. Lopez was alert and able to communicate, but he was still given a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which is a blood-thinning medication used to destroy clots for acute strokes. By the time his CT scans and MRIs were completed, Dr. Lopez’s medical practice partner had arrived.
He explained to the couple that he’d already spoken with a Jackson neurologist about the situation and they both agreed Dr. Lopez should be transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital in order to take all necessary precautions.
Jackson’s acute stroke team is comprised of multidisciplinary professionals specially-trained to provide the best care for patients, and consists of specialists from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Departments of Neurology and Neurological Surgery. It was there that Dr. Lopez was first introduced to Eric Peterson, MD, a UM/Jackson neurosurgeon who specializes in neuroendovascular surgery.
“When I met Dr. Lopez, he was conscious, but unable to speak,” says Dr. Peterson. “With time working against us and his condition worsening, I knew an aggressive approach had to be taken.”
In a high-tech neuroendovascular suite at Jackson Memorial, Dr. Peterson performed a mechanical embolectomy – a refined practice used to remove clots.
By threading a small catheter from Dr. Lopez’s leg artery all the way up into his brain,he was able to successfully remove the blockage. The leading-edge, minimally-invasive treatment, which takes roughly 30 minutes, is fairly common for major stroke centers.
But it’s an aggressive approach, making some facilities hesitant to conduct the procedure. The specifics of Dr. Lopez’s case made it even less likely that other hospitals would have done it, considering the actual obstruction was so small and other vessels were, in fact, open.
However, despite the artery’s size, it was definitely critical, as it supplied blood to the area of his brain that controls speech. Dr. Peterson knew this was the only option for the neurologist to have a full recovery.
The results were positive and immediate, too. By that evening, Dr. Lopez was speaking perfectly. He spent a few days at Jackson, and was back to work, seeing patients at his practice, within a week.
“I couldn’t believe how quickly I had stabilized after the clot was removed,” recalls Dr. Lopez. “I’m incredibly lucky and very fortunate. I haven’t experienced any problems since then either, and I have Jackson’s top-notch care and incredible physicians to thank for that.”