Timely embolectomy in acute massive pulmonary embolism prevents catastrophe: An experience from two cases

Acute massive pulmonary embolism is a life-threatening emergency that must be promptly diagnosed and managed. Over the last several years, the use of computed tomography scanning has improved the clinician's ability to diagnose acute pulmonary embolism. We report two cases of acute massive pulmonary embolism who presented with sudden onset of dyspnea and underwent successful open pulmonary embolectomy. The first case presented with acute onset of dyspnea of 2 days duration, in view of hemodynamic deterioration and two-dimensional echocardiography, it revealed clot in right ventricular (RV) apex and right pulmonary artery; the patient underwent cardiopulmonary bypass and open pulmonary embolectomy with RV clot extraction. The second case presented with a sudden onset of dyspnea on the 15(th) postoperative day for traumatic rupture of urinary bladder, in view of recent surgery, the patient was subjected to surgical embolectomy. Following surgical intervention, both the patients made a prompt recovery.