Surgical treatment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

Background: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary artery obstruction from unresolved pulmonary emboli is characterized by persistent elevation of pulmonary vascular resistance and progressive right heart dysfunction and failure. The diagnosis of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension is difficult and often missed. Medical therapy is ineffective in these patients. The prognosis is poor and depends on the degree of pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy has proven to be an effective and potentially curative surgical therapy for this clinical entity although less than 1000 cases have been reported in the surgical literature. Methods: The current principles of diagnosis, pati…