A patient with severe pulmonary embolism (PE), a condition in which blood clots block the arteries in the lungs, was saved by a state-of-the-art pulmonary thrombectomy procedure at Narayana Hospital in Barasat. Because the patient’s condition did not require traditional clot-dissolving treatment, this advanced procedure was required.

The patient had just had surgery for a subdural hemorrhage (brain bleeding) a week before being admitted to the hospital with severe dyspnea. Given this history, medical professionals decided that using thrombolysis—drugs that dissolve blood clots—was too dangerous and that a different method was needed to remove the potentially fatal blood clots.

An ECG and echocardiography, among other medical tests, revealed that the patient’s right ventricle (RV) was enlarged, indicating cardiac strain. Action must be taken immediately after a CT Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA) reveals the presence of large blood clots in both main pulmonary arteries.

The team chose to use the Penumbra aspiration system, which uses a specialized catheter to remove clots straight from the arteries, to perform a minimally invasive pulmonary thrombectomy. The patient’s condition significantly improved after several clots were successfully removed. The patient received supportive care and was put on BiPAP (non-invasive ventilation) after the procedure. The patient’s blood pressure and oxygen levels improved over the following few days, and on the tenth post-operative day, he was released following a full recovery.

If left untreated, pulmonary embolism is a dangerous and frequently fatal condition. Pulmonary thrombectomy is a life-saving option for patients who are unable to receive thrombolysis because of the significant risk of bleeding. Because it increases survival rates and lowers long-term complications, this technique is being used more and more to treat massive and sub-massive pulmonary embolisms.

This accomplishment by a group of medical professionals at Narayana Hospital Barasat highlights the growing significance of sophisticated interventional techniques in contemporary medicine as well as the vital role that pulmonary thrombectomy plays in treating severe pulmonary embolism.

Priyanka Dutta