Kauvery Hospital, Vadapalani Performs Life-Saving Pulmonary Endarterectomy on a 27-year-old-man from Africa
Mar 14, 2024
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 14: His symptoms and investigations revealed a serious condition known as Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH) - a condition characterised by elevated blood pressure in the lung arteries associated with blood clots originating from deep veins in the lower limbs or pelvis. These blood clots can dislodge and travel in the venous system to the lung arteries. When diagnosed early, this is typically treated with anticoagulation for up to six months. If the blood clots are not absorbed they transform into scar tissue narrowing or blocking the arterial branches supplying both lungs. The risk of developing CTEPH is higher with delayed or under anticoagulation, with repeated episodes of pulmonary embolism, or in some patients with genetic susceptibility to form clots more readily. Once CTEPH is established, the mean life expectancy is less than three years.