Advancements in Pulmonary Vein Thrombosis Treatment: Bench-scale Efficacy of a Developed Three-Disc Self-Expanding Braided Pulmonary Clot Retrieval Device

Abstract

Rare, pulmonary vein thrombosis is a potentially life-threatening condition that most often arises as a complication of malignancy, post-lung surgery, or atrial fibrillation and may also be present in the idiopathic setting. PVT poses significant risks of pulmonary infarction, pulmonary edema, right ventricular failure, and peripheral embolisms going on to cause stroke, limb ischemia, and renal infarction. Traditional techniques of clot removal, which are used majorly in older and larger thrombi, involve multiple attempts at aspiration and pose a risk of significant loss of blood along with procedural complications. Here, this research paper proposes a new, self-expanding three-disc braided pulmonary clot retrieval device to overcome the drawbacks of current treatment modalities. The device possesses architectural and mechanical properties enabling a maximally retrievable clot by a minimally invasive endovascular approach to reduce the complications and bring the procedure closer to safety and efficacy. It ensures easy clot removal from the vessel as it has less risks than conventional methods. This deployment is with a procedure involving a relatively small entry point, minimizing invasive trauma to the patient, such that clot extraction can be efficiently completed with minimal blood loss and further trauma. This clot retrieval device was proven by in-vitro testing to be suitable and to perform well with bench-scale evaluation. Such a result gives great promise toward enhancing patient outcome in the management of pulmonary thromboembolism brought about by this innovative approach. However, further pre-clinical trials are warranted to validate these findings and place this device as a superior alternative to clot retrieval at present.