Acute massive pulmonary embolism treated by thrombo-embolectomy using intermittent deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.

Acute massive pulmonary embolism is a life threatening medical emergency resulting in a high mortality rate. Usually, urgent thrombo-embolectomy is performed using double venous cannulation without circulatory arrest. We describe a patient suffering from acute massive pulmonary embolism that was treated by emergency thrombo-embolectomy. Due to back-bleeding the view into the lobar and segmental pulmonary arteries was severely compromised. In order to achieve complete thrombo-embolectomy, intermittent deep hypothermic circulatory arrest was performed.