Turkey: Man, 71, overcomes COVID-19, cerebral paralysis

KUTAHYA, Turkey

A 71-year-old patient who had cerebral paralysis while being treated for the coronavirus was able to overcome his conditions thanks to successful medical intervention.

Ibrahım Karabiber from the western province of Kutahya was diagnosed with coronavirus and was in the pandemic intensive care unit when he started to feel weakness on his left side, caused by clogging in his carotid artery, as found out after he was taken to the emergency room.

Doctors Mehmet Korkmaz and Mustafa Cetiner said Karabiber was at risk of paralysis but overcame that challenge with mechanic thrombectomy and endovascular treatment.

"COVID-19 increases the risk of paralysis by 5 to 6%," said Korkmaz. "We need to attend to such patients in a very short time, and they must be told that time is very important. The sooner we attend, the higher their chance of recovery."

After treatment, Karabiber recovered from paralysis and tested negative for the coronavirus.

Being able to walk and maintain a stable condition, he was dismissed from the hospital.

* Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara