Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire, UK, will be funded to undertake balloon pulmonary angioplasty for patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, it has been announced.
NHS England says the treatment will enable patients to “get their lives back” and to cease taking long-term medication.
Dr Joanna Pepke-Zaba, a consultant respiratory physician at the hospital, investigated the procedure in Japan in 2014 and led trials in Papworth.
She said: “Because of the success of the pilot study launched at Royal Papworth Hospital three years ago – and because of the financial and innovative risks taken at the hospital – we can provide balloon pulmonary angioplasty in the UK.
“It allows us to get to those hard-to-reach areas of the lung and offer CTEPH patients, the single biggest group of all patients with a diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension, a better chance of survival and a much-improved quality of life.”
Dr James Palmer, medical director for specialised commissioning at NHS England, said: “Patients living with life changing conditions have to cope with really quite severe symptoms, where even small movements can leave people gasping for breath.
“As the NHS approaches its 70th anniversary, this intervention, available for patients across the country, is another fantastic example of the innovations the health service adopts each year to enable clinicians to deliver the best possible outcomes for their patients.”
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