[Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy in the management of chronic pulmonary thromboembolic hypertension].
OBJECTIVE: The efficacy of surgical treatment (pulmonary thromboendarterectomy, PTE) in the management of chronic pulmonary thromboembolic hypertension (CTE-PH) was reviewed. METHODS: A retrospective study of 8 patients receiving consecutive PTE in Fuwai cardiovascular hospital was made, with special regard to the operation methods, perioperative management and follow-up. RESULTS: All survived the operation. As compared with preoperative values, all patients presented with significant improvement of systolic pulmonary artery pressure [(39 +/- 15) mmHg versus (101 +/- 24) mm Hg], arterial oxygen tension [(92 +/- 7) mmHg versus (59 +/- 11) mm Hg] and arterial oxygen saturation (0.98 +/- 0.01 versus 0.89 +/- 0.06). Mid-term follow-up showed that the cardiac function of the patients fell into NYHA class I (n = 3) or II (n = 5), with significant improvement in quality of life. CONCLUSION: PTE is effective treatment in the management of CTE-PH.