Rio Grande Regional Hospital opened a new stroke center in McAllen to provide emergency room patients with immediate imaging and neurosurgical capabilities in the same section of the building, to improve the speed of medical care during a stroke. 

Officials estimated the hospital invested about $5 million in the project, including about $500,000 in renovations to build out a hybrid operating room for neuroendovascular care. 

Inside the new operating room

The new operating room enables surgeons to perform either open procedures or those requiring camera guidance. 

For example, surgeons can now perform neuroendoscopic thrombectomies, an invasive procedure in which surgeons remove blood clots that are causing a stroke. Or a patient could require aneurysm coiling, which is a minimally invasive procedure in which surgeons use a catheter to prevent further brain bleeding. But both methods can be done in the same room rather than in different hospital wings.