World Thrombosis Day marked yesterday, raises awareness of the prevention, recognition and treatment of blood clots, while highlighting the importance of multidisciplinary care.

At Northern Health, Interventional Radiologists work as part of the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT), a multidisciplinary team that brings together expertise from Interventional Radiology, Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care and Haematology. The team rapidly assesses patients with serious PE and determines the most appropriate treatment pathway for each individual.

For selected patients, this may include large-bore mechanical thrombectomy (LBMT), an advanced minimally invasive procedure that physically removes blood clots from the pulmonary arteries.

During LBMT, an Interventional Radiologist guides a catheter through a blood vessel into the pulmonary arteries using advanced imaging technology. Specialised equipment is then used to remove a significant clot directly from the lungs, restoring blood flow and reducing pressure on the heart.

Compared with traditional treatment approaches, LBMT may offer several advantages for appropriate patients, including a lower risk of serious bleeding, faster symptom relief and shorter hospital stays. Large international randomised trials have demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of the procedure, which is increasingly being adopted as part of contemporary pulmonary embolism management worldwide.

“For the right patient with serious pulmonary embolism, mechanical thrombectomy gives us another option to rapidly reduce the clot burden without the need for clot-busting medication, which can increase the risk of bleeding in some patients,” said Dr Philip Chan, Head of Interventional Radiology at Northern Health.

“The strength of our PERT approach is that we can bring together expertise from across Northern Health to make sure patients receive individualised and timely care. We are especially fortunate to collaborate closely with our haematology colleagues and to be the first health service in Victoria to perform this procedure in May 2024.”

Since introducing the procedure, more than 50 patients have benefited from this innovative treatment.

Featured image: Northern Health Interventional Radiologists A/Prof Terry Kok and Dr Goran Mitreski performing a large-bore mechanical thrombectomy procedure.