Surgical treatment of pulmonary embolism after cesarean section.

Kwon, Jae Hyun; Kwon, Ja Young; Son, Ka Hyun; Kim, Young Han; Nam, Yun Young; Park, Yong Won

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2009;52(6):644-648.
Published online June 1, 2009.

Surgical treatment of pulmonary embolism after cesarean section.

Jae Hyun Kwon, Ja Young Kwon, Ka Hyun Son, Young Han Kim, Yun Young Nam, Yong Won Park

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. ywparkob@yuhs.ac
²Department of Cardio Vascular Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the leading cause of maternal deaths and the incidence has been increased in recent years in Asian countries. Although the treatment options available for patients with massive PE include thrombolytic therapy, catheter-directed thrombectomy, and surgical embolectomy, there are no conclusive data or evidence on the appropriate treatment of PE. We experienced a case of massive PE with large thrombus involving major pulmonary arteries immediately after emergency cesarean section and successfully treated by thrombectomy, so hereby report the case.

Key Words: Pulmonary embolism, Cesarean section, Thrombectomy