Late clinical outcomes of manual aspiration thrombectomy for a massive acute pulmonary thromboembolism.

Purpose: We investigated the late outcomes of patients who underwent manual aspiration thrombectomy for acute massive pulmonary thromboembolism. Materials and methods: Fifteen patients underwent manual aspiration thrombectomy between December 1995 and June 2002. All patients were discharged after the procedure. Patients' statuses were checked by medical record examinations and telephone interviews. The median follow-up was 162 months (116–208 months). Results: Five patients died during follow-up; two for malignancy, one for septic shock, one for cerebral infarction, and in one patient the cause of death was unknown. There were no pulmonary thromboembolism-related deaths during the period and no recurrence. The 1-year survival rate was 100%, the 5-year survival rate was 75.0 ± 12.5%, and the 10-year survival rate was 75.0 ± 12.5%. Conclusion: Patients who undergo manual aspiration thrombectomy for acute massive pulmonary thromboembolism show acceptable outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]