(SAGINAW, MI) — Lebanese-American neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Adel saved a Michigan man’s life after using a new scanner to reverse the symptoms of a stroke.
Adel, who works at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Saginaw, Mich., said Doug Sands was taken to a local medical center near his home, but it didn’t have the necessary technology he needed to survive.
Sands was then rushed 45 miles away from his home to St. Mary’s of Michigan Medical Center, where he was treated by Adel.
When Sands arrived, the left side of his body was paralyzed and he couldn’t speak, according to a medical report.
But Adel used a new scanner to pinpoint a clot in his neck and head, which prompted an urgent surgery to remove the clots.
Adel said the new scanner saved Sands’ life.
“Our success rate was 50 percent initially,” Adel told WNEM-TV. “Now, with the recent technology that we have, it’s up to 70, even 80 percent chance of being able to open the blood vessels.”
Adel added that modern medical technology can reverse stroke symptoms within six hours after they first develop.
Sands says he’s thankful for Adel’s quick-thinking.
“It’s hard to put into words, without him I might still be laying here not being able to talk,” he said.
Adel has completed fellowship training in cerebrovascular, endovascular, and skull base surgery.
He earned his medical degree from American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon and completed a residency in neurological surgery at Northwestern University in Chicago, according to his online biography.