Major pulmonary embolism treated with a rheolytic thrombectomy catheter.

The current treatment of massive pulmonary embolism (PE) has been either thrombolysis or surgical embolectomy. Recently, percutaneous rheolytic thrombectomy has emerged as an alternative treatment in patients with contraindications to thrombolysis. We describe a 45-year-old woman who developed major PE post-operatively, who was treated successfully with the AngioJet system. The principles of percutaneous rheolytic thrombectomy, its effectiveness and potential complications are discussed.