PubMed · 17126126
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Johannes M Albes. 2006. Invited commentary.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2006.07.046
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Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy was performed on a patient with chronic pulmonary thromboembolism showing thrombophilia. The patient was a 56-year-old female with the above condition complicated by congenital protein C deficiency. She was admitted to our hospital with severe dyspnea accompanied by right ventricular failure. A pulmonary arteriogram showed occlusion and stenosis from lobar to segmental arteries. Cardiac catheterization showed marked pulmonary hypertension. A lung perfusion scintigram revealed multiple defects in the right and left lungs. After the insertion of an inferior vena cava filter, she was operated on. Following a median sternotomy, thromboendarterectomy of the bilateral pulmonary arteries was performed using deep hypothermia and intermittent circulatory arrest. Circulatory arrest was employed in three periods totaling up to 36 minutes. After surgery, she had improvements in pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vascular resistance. She maintained improved lung functions, and remained in the New York Heart Association functional class I for more than two years and eight months after surgery.
The postoperative care of the patient undergoing pulmonary endarterectomy presents challenges that occur not only with other types of cardiac surgery but also with significant respiratory system changes related to alterations in pulmonary blood flow. Postoperative mortality associated with this procedure has declined substantially over the years as a consequence of improved evaluative procedures and selective surgical referral, advances in surgical technique, and an understanding of the unique postoperative complications that may occur. However, postoperative acute lung injury and residual pulmonary hypertension continue to represent major causes of mortality associated with this procedure and represent areas where additional investigative efforts are necessary. Here we describe the unique hemodynamic and respiratory changes that occur in the postoperative pulmonary endarterectomy patient and an evidence-based approach to their optimal management.