Introduction
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a possible complication and a
significant source of morbidity and mortality in patients with
thalassemia syndromes [1]. Pathogenic mechanisms of PAH in
thalassemia are multifactorial. Chronic hemolysis, reduced nitric oxide
bioavailability, chronic hypercoagulable states and various
disease-directed therapies may play important roles in its development
[2]. Even though chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension
(CTEPH) is a well-recognized cause of PAH in patients with
β-thalassemia, surgical management of CTEPH has only rarely been
reported in such cases thus far [3, 4]. We report here the case of a
patient with β-thalassemia complicated with CTEPH who underwent
successful surgical pulmonary thrombo-endarterectomy (PTE). Approval for
writing this report was obtained from the local ethics committee of our
institution, and obtaining individual consent was waived due to the
retrospective nature of the study.