Severe pulmonary embolism is a life-threatening disease requiring a wellbalanced therapeutic approach. It is of upmost importance to differentiate between acute pulmonary embolism and chronic pulmonary embolism in this setting. The management of acute embolism is predominantly carried out by the internal specialist, whereas the therapy of chronic pulmonary embolism is in the domain of the surgi...

Communications to the Editor patients leads us to believe that percutaneous catheter fragmentation and dispersion ofthe thrombus using conventional cardiac catheters is important in the emergency management of patients who have collapsed or are seriously compromised because of a massive pulmonary embolus. While catheter pulmonary embolectomy by experienced operators undoubtedly has saved lives,...

The introduction of cardiopulmonary bypass for the urgent removal of massive pulmonary emboli by Sharp (1962) revolutionized the surgical management of this emergency. More patients were successfully treated in the four years following this than in the preceding 50 years since Trendelenburg's (1908) classical description of pulmonary embolectomy. The use of an extracorporeal circulation, and ac...

BACKGROUND Surgical pulmonary embolectomy (SPE) is indicated for a pulmonary embolism associated with hemodynamic instability. A review of the literature demonstrates that most studies of SPE are conducted at large academic medical centers. This series is from a 325-bed community hospital. METHODS A retrospective chart review was performed of patients undergoing SPE from January 2008 to Decem...

UNLABELLED A 30-year-old pregnant woman who suffered from massive pulmonary embolism presented in an unstable hemodynamic status. Angiojet catheter embolectomy and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) were performed, which caused the patient's condition to improve. Use of ECMO was continued during the weaning program, but the patient died of intracranial hemorrhage, a complication of ECMO...