We are the combination of four hospitals: the General Hospital, the Children’s Hospital, the Women’s Hospital and the Traumatology, Rehabilitation and Burns Hospital. We are part of the Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus: a world-leading health park where healthcare plays a crucial role.
Below we will list the departments and units that form part of Vall d’Hebron Hospital and the main diseases that we treat. We will also make recommendations based on advice backed up by scientific evidence that has been shown to be effective in guaranteeing well-being and quality of life.
Would you like to know what your stay at Vall d'Hebron will be like? Here you will find all the information.
The commitment of Vall d'Hebron University Hospital to innovation allows us to be at the forefront of medicine, providing first class care adapted to the changing needs of each patient.
Pulmonary hypertension is a risk factor for patients who need surgery and, therefore, defining strategies for its management is important to allow a favorable clinical evolution.
Pulmonary hypertension, characterized by high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs and the right side of the heart, increases the risk of complications and death in patients undergoing surgery. A team of international experts with the participation of Dr. Antonio Roman, Director of Healthcare of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, has drawn up a consensus document for the management of this type of patient with the aim of reducing the risks associated with the operation and improving their clinical evolution. The work, published in The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, was commissioned to a group of experts in pulmonary hypertension by the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation in response to the need for a guide for all professionals who care for these patients.
The new guideline is published after more than four years of intense work and responds to the problems that arise with patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension who require surgical treatment for different reasons. "Accurate risk assessment and diagnosis is necessary to be able to offer or not offer surgical treatment to these patients", explains Dr. Roman.
The international consensus document includes recommendations for the follow-up of patients with pulmonary hypertension before, during and after different types of surgery. In relation to preoperative evaluation, the paper emphasizes the assessment of the risk posed by surgery for each patient. It depends, among others, on the cause of the pulmonary hypertension, the patient's condition at the time of surgery, the fact of suffering from other diseases and the type and urgency of the surgery. A multidisciplinary team consisting of pulmonary hypertension specialists, anesthesiologists, surgeons, intensivists, pharmacists and nurses will be in charge of preparing a plan for the operation. The experts also stress the importance of stabilizing patients as much as possible and improving the function of the right ventricle of the heart before undergoing the operation.
During the intervention, the publication details the recommendations regarding anesthesia, in which the use of local anesthesia is recommended, if possible, as it is safer than general anesthesia. Regarding mechanical ventilation, the experts emphasize its necessity to avoid oxygen deprivation in the patients, but they explain the strategies that would be advisable to avoid undesired effects.
After the operation, it is essential to closely monitor patients, especially during the first 48-72 hours, when there is a greater risk of complications, such as infections, sepsis, arrhythmias, etc. Above all, it is important to control pain without opioid drugs and to ensure adequate oxygenation.
The document also sets out strategies for the management of possible complications or cardiac failure, as well as characteristic aspects to be taken into account in each type of intervention, whether cardiac or non-cardiac.
The new guideline responds to the problems that arise with patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension who require surgical treatment for different reasons.
Healthcare Management, General Hospital
By accepting these conditions, you are agreeing to the processing of your personal data for the provision of the services requested through this portal, and, if necessary, for any procedures required by the administrations or public bodies involved in this processing, and their subsequent inclusion in the aforementioned automated file. You may exercise your rights to access, rectification, cancellation or opposition by writing to web@vallhebron.cat, clearly stating the subject as "Exercising of Data Protection Rights". Operated by: Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron - Institut Català de la Salut. Purpose: Manage the user’s contact information. Legitimisation: Express acceptance of the privacy policy. Rights: To access, rectify, and delete personal information data, as well to the portability thereof and to limit and/or oppose their use. Source: The interested party themselves.