Prompt action by doctors at Mediclinic Parkview Hospital saved 42-year-old Melissa Lindley who suffered from respiratory arrest after her pulmonary arteries were completely blocked with a pulmonary embolus.
She was in a critical condition when she walked in with her oxygen saturation down to 45 per cent and her right ventricle failing and dilating. Lindley, who was recovering from surgery, could not receive traditional clot busting medication intravenously because of the higher risk of bleeding from her fresh wounds.
Instead, a new and cutting-edge surgical intervention based on ultrasonic fragmentation of pulmonary arterial embolism and direct thrombolysis was successfully undertaken by Dr Ahmad Mustafa, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, using the EKOS device (Boston Scientific).
