Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy in the setting of a mediastinal venous malformation with a congenitally absent left subclavian vein.

Venous malformations have static venous lakes that predispose to spontaneous venous thrombosis within the malformation due to its low-flow static state. Thrombi of varying sizes can then embolize continually into the pulmonary arterial circulation, and occlude and narrow elastic pulmonary arteries causing chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) is potentially curative in CTEPH, but has not been previously reported in the setting of mediastinal and chest wall venous malformations.