title: Massive pulmonary embolism: percutaneous emergency treatment using an aspirex thrombectomy catheter.
abstract: Massive pulmonary embolism (PE) is a life-threatening condition with a high early mortality rate caused by acute right ventricular failure and cardiogenic shock. A 51-year-old woman with a massive PE and contraindication for thrombolytic therapy was treated with percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy using an Aspirex 11F catheter (Straub Medical AG, Wangs, Switzerland). The procedure was successfully performed and showed a good immediate angiographic result. The patient made a full recovery from the acute episode and was discharged on heparin treatment. Our case report indicates that in patients with contraindications to systemic thrombolysis, catheter thrombectomy may constitute a life-saving intervention for massive PE.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Zaloska, 7-1525, Slovenia. peter.popovic@kclj.si
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Popovic
authors.forename: Matjaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bunc
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods; D002404:Catheterization; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017131:Thrombectomy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome