BACKGROUND: Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is a life-threatening disease with high mortality. This study aimed to assess the outcomes of surgical embolectomy and to clarify the sustained long-term effects of surgery by comparing preoperative, postoperative, and long-term follow-up echocardiography outcomes. Of 22 survivors, 21 were followed up for a mean (median) period of 6.8±5.4 years (4.2 years). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 27 surgical embolectomy cases for massive or submassive acute PTE from 2003 to 2016. Immediate and long-term follow-up outcomes of surgical embolectomy were assessed on the basis of 30-day mortality, long-term mortality, postoperative complications, right ventricular systolic pressure, and tricuspid regurgitation grade. RESULTS: The 30-day and long-term mortality rates were 14.8% (4 of 27) and 4.3% (1 of 23), respectively. Three patients had major postoperative complications, including hypoxic brain damage, acute kidney injury, and endobronchial bleeding, respectively (3.7% each). Right ventricular systolic pressure (median [range], mm Hg) decreased from 62.0 (45.5–78.5) to 31.0 (25.7–37.0, p<0.001). The tricuspid valve regurgitation grade (median [range]) decreased from 1.5 (0.63–2.00) to 0.50 (0.50–1.00, p<0.05). The improvement lasted until the last echocardiographic follow-up. CONCLUSION: Surgical embolectomy revealed favorable mortality and morbidity rates in patients with acute massive or submassive PTE, with sustained long-term improvements in cardiac function.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Echocardiography ; Embolectomy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypoxia, Brain ; Mortality ; Postoperative Complications ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Retrospective Studies ; Survivors ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency

Behçet’s disease (BD) is a multisystemic, chronic autoimmune inflammatory vasculitic disease with an unknown etiology. Although the literature reports that vascular involvement occurs in 7% to 38% of all BD cases, the arteries are rarely involved; however, arterial involvement is usually associated with significant mortality and morbidity. We report the case of a young female patient who presented to the emergency department with severe abdominal pain and a history of weight loss. The patient was evaluated using computed tomography angiography, which revealed a ruptured suprarenal aortic pseudoaneurysm with occlusion of both the superior mesenteric and celiac arteries. Urgent surgery was performed with aortic repair with an interposition graft and superior mesenteric artery embolectomy. The patient’s clinical history and radiological imaging findings were strongly suggestive of the diagnosis of BD with vascular involvement.
Abdominal Pain ; Aneurysm, False ; Angiography ; Arteries ; Behcet Syndrome ; Celiac Artery ; Diagnosis ; Embolectomy ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Humans ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Mortality ; Transplants ; Vasculitis ; Weight Loss

Mortality rate for pulmonary embolectomy in critically ill patients still ranges from 30% to 45%. The causes of death in these patients are persistent pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary edema, and massive pulmonary hemorrhage. Residual thrombus and air trapping in peripheral pulmonary artery during pulmonary embolectomy can cause intractable right heart failure and persistent pulmonary hypertension. We report a successful extraction of residual thrombus and air bubbles during pulmonary embolectomy by retrograde pulmonary perfusion. Use of this technique could decrease morbidity and mortality from persistent right heart failure after pulmonary embolectomy in critically ill patients.
Cause of Death ; Critical Illness ; Embolectomy* ; Heart Failure ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Mortality ; Perfusion* ; Pulmonary Artery ; Pulmonary Edema ; Pulmonary Embolism* ; Thoracic Surgery ; Thrombosis

PURPOSE: We retrospectively analyzed open pulmonary thromboembolectomy in patients with acute and chronic pulmonary thromboembolism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between August 1990 and May 2005, 12 consecutive patients with acute and chronic pulmonary thromboembolism underwent open pulmonary thromboembolectomy at Yonsei Cardiovascular Center. Their mean age was 47.5 years, and 7 of the patients were female. Among 12 patients, 5 had acute onset, and 7 had chronic disease, and 9 patients were associated with deep venous thrombosis. Extent of pulmonary embolism was massive in 3 patients with hemodynamic instability, and submassive in 8 patients. Preoperative echocardiogram revealed elevated right ventricular pressure in all patients, and 7 patients were in NYHA functional class III or IV. Pulmonary thromboembolectomy was performed in all patients under total circulatory arrest. RESULTS: There were 2 hospital deaths (16.7%). Among the patients who survived, mean right ventricular pressure was decreased significantly from 64.3mmHg to 34.0mmHg with improvement of NYHA functional class. CONCLUSION: Open pulmonary thromboembolectomy is thought to be an immediate and definitive treatment for massive pulmonary embolism with optimal results. Even though operative mortality is still high, early diagnosis and immediate surgical intervention in highly selective patients may improve the clinical outcome.
Adult ; Aged ; *Embolectomy/mortality ; Female ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Pulmonary Embolism/mortality/physiopathology/*surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Vena Cava Filters

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prognosis of surgical treatment for renal cell carcinoma with renal vein or inferior vena cava tumor thrombus.

METHODSBetween August 1994 and July 2004, 33 patients with renal cell carcinoma with renal vein or inferior vena cava tumor thrombus underwent radical nephrectomy and thrombectomy. The study population included 26 male and 7 female. The median age was 60 years (20 - 82). Level of tumor thrombus was renal vein in 15 patients, infrahepatic (level I) in 9, intrahepatic (level II) in 5, suprahepatic (level III) in 1, and right atrial extension (level IV) in 3. Survival analysis was made with Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTSTwenty-nine patients can be followed up. Fourteen patients were lost with a mean survival time of (16.4 +/- 2.9) months (1 - 42 months). Fifteen patients were survival with a mean follow-up of (17.3 +/- 4.6) months (3 - 67 months). One patient was lost on the second postoperative day. Three patients can not be followed up. The 5-year Kaplan-Meier survival rate was 16%. The mean survival time of patients with renal vein involvement [(49.9 +/- 9.8) months] versus level I [(16.7 +/- 1.9) months] was significantly different (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSRadical nephrectomy plus thrombectomy is a valuable method for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma with renal vein or inferior vena cava involvement. Patients with renal vein tumor thrombus appear to have better survival compared to patients with inferior vena cava tumor thrombus.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; mortality ; pathology ; surgery ; Embolectomy ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney Neoplasms ; mortality ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplastic Cells, Circulating ; Nephrectomy ; methods ; Prognosis ; Renal Veins ; pathology ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Vena Cava, Inferior ; pathology ; surgery

Background: Even though there were developments in various treatment techniques for acute limb ischemia, this disease is both life threatening and limb threatening. We investigated early and mid-term results of operation for acute limb ischemia with symptoms, the combined diseases, location of occlusion, complication in our patients. Meterial and Method: A retrospective review was conducted in 54 patients (43 men, 11 women, mean age 67.2 years) presenting with acute limb ischemia due to arterial thrombosis or embolism between Jan. 1996 and Dec. 2003, initially underwent thromboembolectomy. Result: In 33 patients (61.1%) the timeinterval from the onset of symptom to admission was within 24 hours. Causes of acute limb ischemia were embolic occlusion (27.8%), native arterial thrombosis (66.7%), and bypass graft thrombosis (5.6%). The distribution of arterial occlusion location was at 8 aortoiliac (14.8%) and 43 distal to femoral (79.6%) and brachial (5.6%). Clinical categories were grade I in 64.8%, IIa in 24.1%, IIb in 7.4%, and III in 3.7%. All the patients were received embolectomy. Underlying diseases were heart disease (72.2%), hypertension (33.3%), cerebrovascular accident (16.7%) and diabetes (18.5%). History of smoking was noted in 96.3% of the cases. Mortality rate was 5.6% and overall amputation rate was 9.3% (5/54). The 1-year limb salvage rate was 93.62%. Postoperative complications were 1 wound infection, 1 GI bleeding, 3 acute renal failure, and 1 compartment syndromes. The functional outcomes of the salvaged limb according to the recommended scale for gauging changes in clinical status, revised version in 1997 were +3 in 68.5%, +2 in 9.3%, +1 in 7.4%, -1 in 5.6%, -2 in 3.7%, and -3 in 5.6%. Conclusion: This study revealed 5.6% mortality and the amputation rate was 9.3%. We have retrospectively shown good results from early diagnosis & early operation. To improve outcome, early diagnosis and understand the underlying diseases, prompt treatment and operation would be appreciated.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Amputation ; Compartment Syndromes ; Early Diagnosis ; Embolectomy ; Embolism ; Extremities* ; Female ; Heart Diseases ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Ischemia* ; Limb Salvage ; Male ; Mortality ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stroke ; Thromboembolism ; Thrombosis ; Transplants ; Vascular Diseases ; Wound Infection

Pulmonary embolism is not a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with or without malignancies. Pulmonary embolism should be ruled out when sudden tachypnea and pulmonary hypertension develop in leukemic children, and chest radiograph shows no or minimal abnormalities. A 14-year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia was admitted due to neutropenic fever and dyspnea. Chest computed tomography and ventilation/perfusion scan showed pulmonary embolism, and embolectomy revealed aspergillosis. Invasive aspergillosis is the major opportunistic fungal pathogen in neutropenic patient and an important cause of death. The critical elements of successful management of invasive aspergillosis complicating neutropenia and pulmonary embolism are early diagnosis, initiation of aggressive doses of amphotericin B, reversal of immune suppression and feasible surgical resection of the lesions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of pulmonary embolism caused by Aspergillus in an immunocompromised setting in Korea and we present a case report with a brief review.
Adolescent ; Amphotericin B ; Aspergillosis ; Aspergillus* ; Cause of Death ; Child* ; Dyspnea ; Early Diagnosis ; Embolectomy ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Korea ; Mortality ; Neutropenia ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma* ; Pulmonary Embolism* ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Tachypnea ; Thorax

BACKGROUND: Even though there were developments in various treatment techniques for acute arterial occlusion this disease still has high rate of mortalities and limb amputations. We investigated the combined diseases symptoms location of occlusion type of treatment complication and prognosis in our patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study recruited 48 patients (42 men, 6 women, mean age 57.7 years) who received the operation from January 1995 toDecember 1998. We investigated the post-operation course via medical record review or telephone interview with patients or their family members. RESULT: The most common combined diseases were atherosclerosis in 30 patients. other diseases were 17 diabetes mellitus 16 hypertension and 12 atrial firillation. Pain and clod sensation were noticed in all patients paresthesia in 5 patients fibrillation. Pain and cold sensation were noticed in all patients paresthesia in 5 patients and lower extremity paralysis in 11 patients. In 29 patients the time interval from the onset of symptom to admission was over 72 hours and 15 patients were admitted within 24 hours. The distribution of arterial occlusion location was at 28 femoral arteries 14 popliteal arteries and 6 iliac arteries. All the patients were received embolectomy and 5 patients were received additional bypass grafting. Postoperative complications were 12 reocclusions. 6 compartment syndromes 6 skin necrosis and 2 acute renal failure. The mortality rate was 16.7% (8/48) and the amputation rate was 25%. CONCLUSION: This study revealed 25% reocclusion 25% limb amputation and 16.7% mortaliyt. To improve the prognosis of acute lower extrements arterial occlusion early diagnosis and understand the underlying diseases prompt treatment and operation additional operation including interventional radiologic examination and thorough postoperative care would be appreciated.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Amputation ; Atherosclerosis ; Compartment Syndromes ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Early Diagnosis ; Embolectomy ; Extremities ; Female ; Femoral Artery ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Iliac Artery ; Interviews as Topic ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Necrosis ; Paralysis ; Paresthesia ; Popliteal Artery ; Postoperative Care ; Postoperative Complications ; Prognosis ; Sensation ; Skin ; Transplants

PURPOSE: Acute limb ischemia is not only a limb-threatening but also a life-threatening condition. Despite the use of surgical and/or thrombolytic therapy for this urgent treatment -requiring condition, it is still reported to carry high morbidity and mortality rates. METHODS: We analyzed the treatment outcomes of 118 limbs (11 upper limbs, 107 lower limb) with acute limb ischemia treated for 103 patients (age, median: 64, male 89 female 14) at the Department of Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospital, from March 1993 to March 1999. The underlying causes of acute limb ischemia included 62 limbs with acute arterial embolism in 51 patients, 39 limbs with acute arterial thrombosis in 37 patients, 15 limbs with graft occlusion in 14 patients, and 2 limbs of undetermined cause of limb ischemia in 1 patient. The retrospective, nonrandomized study was done. RESULTS: The underlying causes of acute limb ischemia were arterial embolism in 52.5%, arterial thrombosis in 33.1%, bypass graft occlusion 12.7%, and undetermined cause in 1.7%. Severity of ischemia according to the SVS/ISCVS classification, 107 limbs (90.7%) were classified as category II and 9 limbs (7.6%) were in category III. For the limbs with embolisms, 47 embolectomies (including 6 cases treated with adjuvant thrombolytic therapy) and 10 arterial bypasses were performed. For the limbs with thromboses, 23 arterial bypasses, 5 thrombectomies, and 4 catheter directed thrombolytic therapies were performed. For the patients with acute graft occusion, 8 redo bypasses, 4 thrombolytic therapies, and 2 thrombectomies were performed. We experienced major limb amputations in 8.1%, hospital mortality in 13.7% and recurrence of ischemic symptoms in 16.1% during the follow-up period in the embolism patients and limb amputations in 2.7%, hospital mortality in 14.3%, and recurrence of ischemic symptoms in 8.3% of the thrombosis patients. Of the patients with category II ischemia, major limb amputation and hospital mortality rates were 4.7% and 9.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: In dealing with acute limb ischemia, prompt and appropriate selection of treatment modalities, if needed in combined modes, is critically important in improving the treatment outcomes.
Amputation ; Catheters ; Classification ; Embolectomy ; Embolism ; Extremities* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Ischemia* ; Male ; Mortality ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Thrombectomy ; Thrombolytic Therapy ; Thrombosis ; Transplants ; Upper Extremity

BACKGROUND: Arterial emboli remain an important cause of acute arterial ischemia. Despite simplification of operative techniques, the substantial morbidity and mortality still associated with an acute embolus remain a challenge to the vascular surgeon. We wanted to know the adequate evaluation and treatment modality for this limb threatened condition, and to evaluate the results according to etiology, location, time interval before starting treatment, clinical conditions, and limb survival rate. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted on 91 patients who treated for acute lower leg thromboembolism between Jan. 1992 and Dec. 1997. RESULTS: There were 73 men and 18 women and most prevalent age group was in the 5th and 6th decades (53.8%). Over all amputation rate was 25.3% and mortality rate was 5.5%. Cardiac problem was the most common etiologic factor. Associated diseases were cardiac problem (37.4%), hypertension (35.2%), cerebrovascular accident (17.6%), and diabetes (15.4%). Interval from attack to definite therapy, within 24 hours in 14 cases (15.4%), 1~3 days in 23 (25.3%), after 4 days in 54 (59.3%) were noted. The locations were aorta and iliac in 25.3%, femoral in 38.5%, popliteal in 19.8%, tibial in 4.4%, and 15.4% in graft site in other of frequency. Clinical categories were grade I in 9.9%, IIa in 40.7%, IIb in 30.8%, and III in 18.7%. According to Eagle's criteria, low risk group were 34 cases (37.4%), moderate risk group were 39 cases (42.9%), and high risk group were 18 cases (19.8%). Of the 91 patients, conservative treatment in 2 (2.2%), thrombolytic therapy in 33 (36.3%), thromboembolectomy in 56 (61.5%), bypass in 16 (17.6%), endarterectomy and vessel ligation were performed. The 1-month and 1-year limb salvage rates were 73.4% and 71.1%, respectively. Especially, salvage rates in the Department of Vascular Surgery were 84.9% and 83.7%, whereas that of Thoracic and Orthopedic Surgery were 44.4% and 33.0% (p=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac problem especially atrial fibrillation was the most common etiologic factor. Prompt balloon catheter embolectomy performed under local anesthesia is a safe, simple, and effective method of treatment and the preferred mode of management in the great majority of patients. Nonoperative management with thrombolytic agents or high-dose heparin therapy alone is occasionally indicated in highly selected patients. The prognosis of acute arterial thromboembolism of lower extremity can be improved by early detection, early adequate treatment, and the involvement of a qualified vascular surgeon.
Amputation ; Anesthesia, Local ; Aorta ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Catheters ; Embolectomy ; Embolism ; Endarterectomy ; Extremities ; Female ; Fibrinolytic Agents ; Heparin ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Ischemia ; Leg ; Ligation ; Limb Salvage ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Mortality ; Orthopedics ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stroke ; Survival Rate ; Thromboembolism* ; Thrombolytic Therapy ; Transplants