Pulmonary thrombectomy
Encyclopedia
In thoracic surgery
, a pulmonary thrombectomy, is an emergency procedure
that removes clotted blood
(thrombus
) from the pulmonary arteries
.
Mechanical thrombectomies can be surgical (surgical thrombectomy) or percutaneous (percutaneous thrombectomy).
Surgical thrombectomies were once popular but were abandoned because of poor long-term outcomes. Recently, in selected patients, they have gone through a resurgence with the revision of the surgical technique.
(PTEs) are both operations that remove thrombus. Aside from this similarity they differ in many ways.
Thoracic surgery
Thoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in the surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax . Generally treatment of conditions of the lungs, chest wall, and diaphragm....
, a pulmonary thrombectomy, is an emergency procedure
Emergency procedure
An emergency is a serious, unexpected, often dangerous situation that requires immediate action. The emergency procedure is a plan of actions to be conducted in a certain order or manner, in response to an emergency event.-Need for Emergency Procedures:...
that removes clotted blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
(thrombus
Thrombus
A thrombus , or blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. It is achieved via the aggregation of platelets that form a platelet plug, and the activation of the humoral coagulation system...
) from the pulmonary arteries
Pulmonary artery
The pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs. They are the only arteries that carry deoxygenated blood....
.
Mechanical thrombectomies can be surgical (surgical thrombectomy) or percutaneous (percutaneous thrombectomy).
Surgical thrombectomies were once popular but were abandoned because of poor long-term outcomes. Recently, in selected patients, they have gone through a resurgence with the revision of the surgical technique.
Relation to PTE
Pulmonary thrombectomies and pulmonary thromboendarterectomiesPulmonary thromboendarterectomy
In thoracic surgery, a pulmonary thromboendarterectomy, PTE, is an operation that removes organized clotted blood from the pulmonary arteries.-Indication:...
(PTEs) are both operations that remove thrombus. Aside from this similarity they differ in many ways.
- PTEs are done non-emergently whilst pulmonary thrombectomies are typically done as an emergency procedure.
- PTEs typically are done using hypothermia and full cardiac arrest.
- PTEs are done for chronic pulmonary embolism, thrombectomies for severe acute pulmonary embolism.
- PTEs are generally considered a very effective treatment, surgical thrombectomies are an area of some controversy and their effectiveness a matter of some debate in the medical community.