No need for thoracotomy! Minimally invasive intervention allows patients with pulmonary hypertension to breathe freely again

"I suddenly feel less stuffy in my chest, and breathing has become much easier!" Recently, Grandpa Zheng, who had suffered from pulmonary hypertension for a long time and had difficulty breathing in daily activities and even simple living, was finally able to breathe freely after receiving treatment in the Interventional Vascular Surgery Department III of Hunan Provincial People's Hospital .

70-year-old Grandpa Zheng, who lives in Miluo, suffers from chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Because of chronic hypoxia, he may faint even after climbing two floors. In early February this year, Grandpa Zheng's condition worsened and he fainted. After several twists and turns, he finally came to the Mawangdui Hospital for treatment.

Pulmonary hypertension, known as "cancer of the cardiovascular system", is a disease caused by abnormally high pulmonary artery pressure. The heart needs to bear a huge load to pump blood, which leads to a gradual decline in the patient's heart function and a serious decline in quality of life.

In order to improve Grandpa Zheng's quality of life, the medical team of the interventional ward 3 performed pulmonary angiography + pressure measurement + pulmonary artery endovascular angiography interventional treatment for Grandpa Zheng. With superb medical skills and advanced equipment, the diseased blood vessels were accurately treated. After the operation, the patient's pulmonary artery pressure dropped from 76cmH2O to 60cmH2O, a decrease of 21%. At present, the patient has recovered well and has been discharged smoothly.

"If the heart is likened to a pump that pumps blood throughout the body, then the lungs are an oxygen machine that supplies oxygen during the blood dispatch process. When there is a problem with the components of the oxygen machine, the pump will be overloaded and gradually fail." Yan Peng, director of the Third Interventional Vascular Surgery Department at the Mawangdui Campus of Hunan Provincial People's Hospital , introduced that interventional treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension is an important treatment method.

Percutaneous balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) is a minimally invasive vascular interventional technology. Its basic principle is to first use catheter angiography to locate pulmonary artery stenosis or occlusion lesions, and then use a balloon to dilate the stenotic area, open the stenotic or blocked blood vessels, improve pulmonary blood perfusion, and reduce right ventricular afterload to achieve the treatment goal.

The surgery uses the femoral vein as the access route and is a minimally invasive interventional treatment with small trauma, quick recovery, and no need for thoracotomy. It is suitable for situations where surgical tolerance is poor or where the thrombus is located in a remote area that is inaccessible to surgery. It is especially effective for patients with localized stenosis and can significantly improve the quality of life.

Pulmonary hypertension has complex symptoms and is difficult to diagnose. Director Yan Peng reminded that because the disease is complex and serious, it is necessary to strengthen the screening of high-risk patients, such as those with a family history of pulmonary hypertension, connective tissue disease, congenital heart disease, portal hypertension due to cirrhosis, a history of using weight loss drugs, severe chronic lung disease, chronic pulmonary embolism, etc., and should be actively screened, detected early, and treated early to ultimately reduce the risk of death.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Kang Fenglin, Department of Interventional Vascular Surgery, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital

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(Edited by YT)