Thromboendarterectomy of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension
Allermand, H.; Kristensen, B.O.; Christiansen, C.L.; Egeblad, M.R.
Ugeskrift for Laeger 159(41): 6079-6081
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-5782 PMID: 9381581 Document Number: 478790
Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension has a five year survival rate of less than 10% in patients with a systolic pulmonary artery pressure of 50 mmHg with no convincing effect of medical treatment. The operative mortality from pulmonary thrombendarterectomy in specialised centres has been reduced to 9%, suggesting this treatment as being an option. The results from thrombendarterectomy of two Danish patients are reported. The first patient, a 34 year-old woman was operated at the centre in San Diego with the assistance of a Danish thoracic surgeon. The second, a 60 year-old man was operated at our institution by this surgeon. Following removal of sufficient amount of embolic masses and intimal tissue, the patients were discharged from hospital with a substantial improvement in their clinical status and near normalisation of pulmonary artery pressure, which remained at the latest follow-up (3 to 22 months).