Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) is the treatment of choice for patients with accessible (proximal) pulmonary artery lesions.It is a complex surgical procedure which consists in the removal of obstructive thromboembolic material from the pulmonary arteries in order to reduce pulmonary vascular resistance, relieve pulmonary hypertension and alleviate right ventricular dysfunction. Not all patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension are suitable for treatment with pulmonary endarterectomy: it is therefore important that all patients are referred to an experienced centre for careful evaluation of suitability for surgery. In the majority of patients there is symptomatic and prognostic benefit. Long-term outcomes after pulmonary endarterectomy surgery are excellent regarding survival and quality of life,

The above is a very brief summary, for further information please refer to the “2022 ESC/ERS Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension and to other content in this website by going to the Find knowledge page.

References

“2022 ESC/ERS Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension”, Marc Humbert, Gabor Kovacs, Marius M Hoeper, Roberto Badagliacca, Rolf M F Berger, Margarita Brida, Jørn Carlsen, Andrew J S Coats, Pilar Escribano-Subias, Pisana Ferrari, Diogenes S Ferreira, Hossein Ardeschir Ghofrani, George Giannakoulas, David G Kiely, Eckhard Mayer, Gergely Meszaros, Blin Nagavci, Karen M Olsson, Joanna Pepke-Zaba, Jennifer K Quint, Göran Rådegran, Gerald Simonneau, Olivier Sitbon, Thomy Tonia, Mark Toshner, Jean Luc Vachiery, Anton Vonk Noordegraaf, Marion Delcroix, Stephan Rosenkranz, European Heart Journal, January 26, 2022

“Pulmonary endarterectomy: the potentially curative treatment for patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension“, David Jenkins, European Respiratory Review 2015 24: 263-271; DOI: 10.1183/16000617.00000815