Fast fix for blood clots

It’s a condition that can take your breath away- causing almost a million people a year to have difficulty with simple tasks like walking and even working. Left untreated, blood clots can lead to a life-threatening condition.

Now, an innovative procedure is helping people get their life back. Jessica Lopez is one of them. An avid roller derby enthusiast, she found herself in a medical emergency. “I had coughed all over the sink, and there was just a lot of blood,” Lopez said.

The incident landed her in Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was placed under the care of Dr. Chris Malaisrie. “We were able to make the diagnosis that one side of her one lung, on the right side, was completely filled with clot, no blood flow was going through one side, and that led us to the diagnosis of CTEPH.”

Jessica underwent an immediate, life-saving surgery called PTE. It was a ten-hour procedure that involved opening her chest and then attaching Jessica to a heart-lung bypass machine.

“We are able to take a look inside the pulmonary artery, turn the circulation off so there’s no blood flooding in the field, and then, in meticulous fashion, slowly peel that clot away from the pulmonary artery,” Dr. Malaisrie said.

Right away, Jessica could breathe better. She believes what she learned in roller derby is why she’s here today. “It completely changed me as a woman to being able to not just be able to be more active, but to be more mentally strong, not just physically strong. And I’d never had that in my life.”

Other treatments for this condition include blood thinners, balloon angioplasty and open-heart surgery. People as young as teenagers- all the way up to 80 years old can be a good candidate for this PTE surgery.