The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) yesterday announced that it had achieved a historic medical milestone in Guyana by performing the first-ever catheter-directed thrombolysis of a pulmonary embolism.
The life-saving procedure was done two weeks ago on a 35-year-old patient by the hospital’s Interventional Radiologist, Dr Joel Joseph.
According to a press release sent out by the GPHC, the patient was diagnosed with “saddled pulmonary embolism”, a life-threatening condition that required immediate medical intervention to prevent further complications. The release explained that a pulmonary embolism occurs when a blood clot (usually from the legs or other parts of the body) travels to the lungs and causes a blockage in the pulmonary arteries.
After consultation was done with the hospital’s internal medicine team, Joseph performed the surgery which led to a successful outcome. The release said that the patient is recovering well and is currently under medical management in one of the hospital’s wards.
