Operation of the 500th patient with pulmonary hypertension
The unique operation took place on II. the surgical clinic of cardiovascular surgery of the 1st Faculty of Medicine of the UK and VFN in Prague in the Pulmonary Hypertension Center of the VFN - at the largest workplace for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension in the Czech Republic.
The aim of the procedure was to remove the blood clot from the pulmonary vessels and to open them up. Doctors had to connect the patient to extracorporeal circulation, cool her to a body temperature of 17 to 20 degrees Celsius, and for the most important part of the operation, they had to stop her extracorporeal circulation as well. Only in this way is it possible to safely remove all obstructions from the pulmonary arteries and at the same time protect the brain from damage.
Thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension is a relatively rare disease that arises as a chronic consequence of repeated pulmonary emboli. These are caused by blood clots released from the lower limbs or pelvis into the pulmonary arteries. "In patients, there is insufficient dissolution of blood clots, which causes an obstacle to blood flow. As a result, high pressure occurs in the pulmonary arteries and gradual exhaustion of the right heart ventricle. Thanks to the operation, the pressure will be reduced and the flow of the lung areas and the normal function of the heart will be restored." approximates the course of the disease prof. MD Jaroslav Lindner, CSc., deputy principal II. of the surgical clinics of cardiovascular surgery of the 1st Faculty of Medicine of the UK and VFN and a top surgeon who introduced this procedure in the Czech Republic in 2004. He personally performed most of the 500 operations for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension in the Czech Republic and together with his student MUDr. Tomáš Prskavec are the only ones who perform these unique surgical operations in the Czech Republic. The 500th patient at VFN underwent surgery on April 25 of this year. Thanks to the procedure, the doctors significantly and long-term improved the patient's prognosis, removed the symptoms of the disease and signs of heart failure. Without the intervention of doctors and treatment, she could otherwise die.
The Pulmonary Hypertension Center at VFN is one of the best in the world
Unique operations for thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, which require interdisciplinary team cooperation, are performed by only a few centers in Europe. Among the largest are centers in Paris, Vienna, Bad Neuheim in Germany or Cambridge. The Center for Pulmonary Hypertension at VFN ranks among the world's best. It is the only one in the Czech Republic that deals with complex treatment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. They started operations here in 2004. Since then, they have performed exactly five hundred of them. But it is not only Czech patients. Doctors also routinely provide treatment to patients referred from abroad, especially from Slovakia or Romania, as well as from Ukraine.
