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Vigo Hospital Is Galicia’s Only Accredited Center for Balloon Pulmonary Angioplasty

The service gives inoperable CTEPH patients local access that previously required travel to Madrid.

Overview

  • Hospital Álvaro Cunqueiro is one of five centers in Spain accredited to perform balloon pulmonary angioplasty for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.
  • The multidisciplinary program has treated 12 patients since launching in 2021, according to the hospital team.
  • The catheter-based procedure uses small balloons to clear pulmonary artery blockages and typically requires four to six sessions per patient.
  • Clinicians report symptom relief and a lower mortality risk for non-surgical candidates treated with this approach.
  • Doctors say referrals have mostly arrived from Ourense so far, and they aim to centralize Galician cases at the Vigo center.