Surgery for pulmonary embolism

“It was like pulling a stubble”

Experts from several disciplines saved the life of Stefan Winkler (46) at Salzburg State Hospital.(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Daniel Scharinger, zVg.)

That was more than close! Family man Stefan Winkler from Kirchdorf escaped certain death at the last second. He was in danger of suffocating from a pulmonary embolism; the 46-year-old would not have survived conventional methods. In an interview with the "Krone" newspaper, the rescued man also told us what he is most grateful for. 

I was sitting on the couch at home when I suddenly had difficulty breathing and shortly afterwards I stopped breathing. After that, I was in hospital for several weeks because of the pulmonary embolism, but it didn't look good at all. At times I was even in a coma," says Stefan Winkler (46) from Kirchdorf.

I'm incredibly happy! A little later and they would have had to pull the covers over my head.

Der gerettete Familienvater Stefan Winkler

Solution came just in time
The blood clots in his lungs had to be removed urgently, but: "My pulse was already too low for a chest opening and general anesthetic," says the father of a five-year-old daughter. When all seemed lost, the saving idea came: "One of our senior physicians had recently met university professor Klaus Hausegger at a congress and learned about his method for the gentle removal of blood clots from the lungs," explains a spokesperson for the Salzburg Regional Hospital. He was immediately on hand with help and advice. 

From left: Thomas Wolfgruber, Reinhard Kaufmann and Klaus Hausegger led the interdisciplinary team that successfully carried out the operation.(Bild: SALK)

Complete success
A short time later, the interdisciplinary team came together for the five-hour operation. "I was conscious the whole time and followed everything on a screen," says Winkler. "They took out 18 clots. The last one was like a champagne clot, when that was out I could breathe again and could practically feel the blood flowing!"

Pulmonary embolism: what is it?

A pulmonary embolism is when blood clots get stuck in the lungs. If the lungs are no longer supplied with blood, the body cannot absorb oxygen - death by suffocation is imminent. Obesity, smoking, immobility, diabetes and taking the pill are some of the main risk factors. The new method used on Stefan Winkler is called mechanical thrombectomy, comes from the USA and has already proven its worth there: Patients can leave hospital more quickly and the mortality rate is also just one percent instead of ten to 15 percent. In Austria, it has already been used in isolated cases, but for the time being remains reserved for patients with particularly severe courses and complications.

Novel method
In this gentle method, a catheter is guided through a blood vessel from the groin via the heart to the lungs, where the blood clots are simply sucked out.

However, the procedure can only be carried out in particularly severe cases and requires - as in this case - excellent interdisciplinary cooperation.

Father full of gratitude
"I can't say thank you enough," says the 46-year-old. "There have been several deaths in my family recently, one even due to an embolism. I am also infinitely grateful for my five-year-old daughter, who had to witness my respiratory arrest on the couch at the time, for being able to live on!"