The Pulmonary Hypertension Center at Samsung Seoul Hospital announced that it achieved 300 cases as of June 2022, following South Korea’s first successful percutaneous balloon pulmonary artery dilation for pulmonary hypertension due to chronic thromboembolic disease in 2015. Additionally, 100 cases of pulmonary thromboendarterectomy have been performed since the establishment of the center, achieving the highest treatment results among other medical facilities in South Korea.
Chronic pulmonary embolism is a condition where pulmonary clots accumulate over time in the pulmonary blood vessels and become hardened to the point that they are no longer soluble with medications, leading to increased pulmonary artery pressure. If untreated, it can result in right heart failure and even death.
Early detection and treatment are crucial for this disease, but diagnosis is challenging due to its rarity, affecting only 30-50 individuals per 100,000 people.
Before South Korea adjusted to new treatment methods, the only surgical option in 2015 was percutaneous balloon pulmonary angioplasty (where a catheter is inserted into the femoral vein just below the groin to widen narrowed pulmonary blood vessels using a balloon attached to the catheter), which had several limitations.
Professor Chang Sung A, head of the Pulmonary Hypertension Center at Samsung Seoul Hospital, stated, “I am pleased to provide practical help to patients by leading the treatment of pulmonary hypertension due to thrombosis, a condition that has rapidly developed over the past decade and continues to evolve. We will not stop our efforts in research and finding solutions.”
Source: SMC News – About SMC – Samsung Medical Center (samsunghospital.com)
