Introduction: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a rare but fatal complication in postpartum women. Mortality is as high as 65% in massive PE, in which systemic hypotension persists or circulatory collapse occurs. This case report describes a patient who underwent a caesarean section complicated by massive PE. The patient was managed with early surgical embolectomy and bridged with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
Presentation of case: A 36 years old postpartum patient with an unremarkable medical history had sudden cardiac arrest due to PE on the day after a caesarean section. The patient recovered spontaneous cardiac rhythm after cardiopulmonary resuscitation; however, hypoxia and shock persisted. Cardiac arrest and spontaneous circulation recovery were repeated twice per hour. Veno-arterial (VA) ECMO rapidly improved the patient's condition. Surgical embolectomy was conducted 6 h after the initial collapse by the experienced cardiovascular surgeon. The patient's condition improved rapidly, and was weaned from ECMO on postoperative day three. The patient recovered normal heart function and no pulmonary hypertension was observed on follow-up echocardiography performed 15 months later.
Discussion: Timely intervention is important in the management of PE because of its rapid progression. VA ECMO is a useful bridge therapy to prevent derangement and severe organ failure. Surgical embolectomy is appropriate following the use of ECMO in postpartum patients because of the risk of major haemorrhagic complications or intracranial haemorrhage.
Conclusion: In patients who have undergone caesarean section complicated by massive PE, surgical embolectomy is preferred because of the risk of haemorrhagic complications and their relatively young age.
Keywords: Case report; Postpartum period; Pregnancy complications; Pulmonary thromboembolism; Thrombectomy; Thromboembolism.
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