'Breakthrough' blood clot treatment used for first time in NZ - 1News

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A pioneering technique to remove blood clots has been used for the first time in New Zealand, with doctors describing it as a "medical breakthrough".

The catheter equipment is used to treat a pulmonary embolism, a type of blood clot which forms in the leg and travels up the right side of the heart, into the lungs.

British tourist Holly Lee was two weeks into her New Zealand holiday last November, when she went into cardiac arrest in Rotorua.

"I had a couple of days where I started feeling a bit odd and then got progressively worse. For a couple of days I had noticed walking would get me really out of breath," she said.

After collapsing, she was rushed to Auckland City Hospital, where she was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism and treated by Dr Andrew Holden and Dr Brendan Buckley.

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She was told she had a 20% chance of survival.

"I'm a big fan of medical documentaries and dramas, so as soon as I heard PE, I sort of panicked because I was like I'm in some serious trouble now," she said.

Doctors believe the clot may have formed during her long-haul flight.

"Holly represents a typical risk, a young woman who has a long haul flight, otherwise fit and well, suddenly has a life threatening illness," Holden said. "It's a reminder of the risk of long-haul flights and this condition".

The new catheter equipment connects to a computer system which allows doctors to pump a clot out of the arteries with minimal blood loss.

"This new treatment which is putting a catheter inside the vein through a very small hole in the groin up into the heart and then through the heart to the lungs to suck out the clot, is the most recent development in being able to treat these kind of clots," Buckley said. "It's called a mechanical pulmonary thrombectomy, or catheter directed thrombectomy."

Doctors had just received the catheter, prior to Holly's surgery.

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"This is a very special catheter and we were very fortunate to only just get hold of it prior to Holly's case," Buckley said.

Both doctors are a part of a Pulmonary Embolism Response team at Auckland City Hospital, which focuses on programmes developed in world-recognised centres across the world.

Other treatment strategies for the condition include injecting a clot busting drug through a vein or surgery, where doctors split open the sternum and operate on the arteries.

After weeks of recovery, Lee travelled back to the UK alongside her partner, Dave Murphy, and says she is grateful to be alive.

"I'm very grateful to be here, it doesn't it's all roses and peaches, every day is an uphill battle," Murphy says. "If any one piece of that puzzle hadn't been in place we would have a very different situation on our hands so we are just extremely grateful."

Doctors at Auckland Hospital will continue to use the catheter equipment for suitable patients, in hopes of offering the best chance of survival to those with the condition.

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'Breakthrough' blood clot treatment used for first time in NZ - 1News
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