Is it safe to embolize a central pulmonary artery?—a case report

Pulmonary arterial embolization is a common and accepted treatment for a somewhat rare group of lesions that involve the pulmonary arterial tree such as pseudoaneurysms, aneurysms, and arteriovenous fistulae. Therapeutic intervention is localized to the lesion and rarely used for en bloc embolization of large lung territories. Embolization of a central right or left pulmonary artery to cut off blood supply to an entire lung has not been reported. We present a case in which embolization of the left main pulmonary artery was performed and was well tolerated by the patient. The purpose of our case report is to share our experience of the efficacy and safety of this procedure.