At times Ischemic stroke patients cannot be treated with medication, but in those instances, a minimally invasive procedure called mechanical thrombectomy may be conducted. Mechanical thrombectomy is a procedure that removes a blood clot from the brain that is currently causing a stroke. The highly trained interventional neurologist inserts a catheter through the groin, traps the clot and removes the clot in order to reopen the blocked blood vessel. Blood flow resumes immediately and the effects of the stroke are minimized. Best results are seen when this procedure is performed within three hours of the onset stroke symptoms.