Operation for chronic pulmonary thromboembolism accompanied by thrombophilia in 8 patients

Background. Medical therapy for chronic pulmonary thromboembolism is limite d, and surgical treatment has become more frequent recently. We have perfor med pulmonary thromboendarterectomy on 8 patients with chronic pulmonary th romboembolism accompanied by thrombophilia. Methods. The patients were 6 men and 2 women aged 21 to 56 years (mean, 35 years). Five patients had antiphospholipid syndrome, 2 had protein C defici ency, and 1 had congenital antithrombin III deficiency. The preoperative co ndition was New York Heart Association functional class III in 5 and class IV in 3. Hypoxemia, marked pulmonary hypertension (mean pulmonary artery pr essure, 47 +/- 6.7 mm Hg), and low cardiac output were observed in all pati ents. After a median sternotomy, deep hypothermia was induced using a cardi opulmonary bypass, and pulmonary thromboendarterectomy in the bilateral pul monary arteries was performed under intermittent circulatory arrest. Results. There were no operative deaths. Long-term respiratory management w as needed postoperatively by 3 patients. In the remaining 5 patients, no re perfusion injury was observed. The arterial blood oxygen concentration impr oved, and the mean pulmonary pressure decreased to 16 +/- 5.5 mm Hg. The ca rdiac output also increased, and New York Heart Association functional clas s improved to I in 4 and II in 4 patients. Conclusions. Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy under deep hypothermic intermi ttent circulatory arrest was effective for chronic pulmonary thromboembolis m accompanied by thrombophilia for which medical treatment is of limited va lue. (C) 1998 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.