“It’s not a true aspiration catheter, but it can work,” says Sillero. “We have to be careful because the groin is very small at this age — you have to really think outside the box.”

Neurosurgical procedures are especially challenging when operating on kids under two, he explains, partly because medical supply companies don’t make miniature versions of devices such as catheters, since paediatric stroke and aneurysm (a bulge in a blood vessel) are so rare.

Sillero has overcome such challenges not only through improvisation, but thanks to Children’s Health’s innovative model for diagnosis and treatment, which encourages close collaboration between different specialists.