Why did I choose Japan for my BPABalloon Pulmonary Angioplasty Balloon pulmonary angioplasty, or BPA for short, is a technique for widening narrowed or blocked blood vessels in the lungs of CTEPH patients. Small balloons attached to a catheter restore blood flow to areas of the lungs that do not receive blood due to the disease. When successful, BPA eliminates or reduces shortness of breath, increases exercise tolerance and quality of life, and extends life expectancy. treatment? Given the current lack of CTEPHChronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension CTEPH is short for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, a rare form of high blood pressure in the lungs caused by blood clots or narrowed blood vessels. High blood pressure in the lungs is often also called pulmonary hypertension. expertise in Thailand, Japan turned out to be the ideal choice for various critical reasons.
Location and travel time
Japan is relatively close to my home in Thailand, which was particularly important on the trip out because I needed supplemental oxygen during the flight. The shorter the flight, the better. Bangkok to Osaka takes roughly six hours, and I wanted to avoid changing flights and long layovers.
Treatment cost
Despite having the highest standards in the world, Japanese CTEPH expert centers are the least expensive. European and American centers are substantially more pricey (according to a remark by Dr. Matsubara).
Standards and skills
Balloon pulmonary angioplastyBalloon Pulmonary Angioplasty Balloon pulmonary angioplasty, or BPA for short, is a technique for widening narrowed or blocked blood vessels in the lungs of CTEPH patients. Small balloons attached to a catheter restore blood flow to areas of the lungs that do not receive blood due to the disease. When successful, BPA eliminates or reduces shortness of breath, increases exercise tolerance and quality of life, and extends life expectancy. (BPA) is a complex yet straightforward treatment. Success hinges on several factors, most of all on the surgeon’s experience and skills (fingerspitzengefühlFingerspitzengefühl Fingerspitzengefühl is a German term, literally translated as "fingertips feeling". It means having an innate instinct about any given scenario and knowing how to react to it without having to think about it. It also implies a particular touch or sensitivity that comes with experience. The term has been adopted by the English language as a loanword. - Sources: wikipedia.org and Transparent Language).
Thailand still needs to get a CTEPH expert center as of this writing. There is no BPA treatment without CTEPH expertise, so I had to look abroad.
Presently, there are two high-volume centers in Japan [1] where CTEPH patients are treated by highly skilled and experienced surgeons employing cutting-edge technologies. Norms similar to these are still evolving in the rest of the world, including Europe and the United States. Numerous centers outside of Japan currently do not match the treatment numbers and success rates found in Japan. Japanese experts train many surgeons from all over the world.
Response time
I e-mailed several centers in Japan and Europe in search of a suitable place for my treatment. I literally pulled the names and e-mail addresses from the Internet (YouTube and scientific publications).
I didn’t expect any responses but decided to give it a shot anyhow. This was my only chance to live and avoid dying young – hahaha 🙂 .
When I received an answer from Dr. Matsubara just a few hours later, I couldn’t believe it at first. Am I hallucinating? Wow!
Many more messages followed until I decided to organize and go ahead with the trip. All were swiftly answered, often within hours.
The grandmaster
Finally, despite his busy schedule, Dr. Matsubara offered to treat me personally. The BPA grandmaster is going to apply his skills to my ailing lungs. Wow!
The photo shows Dr. Hiromi Matsubara and me immediately after my second BPA procedure. – Photo by OMC taken with my approval, published with permission.
Dr. Hiromi Matsubara, MD, PhD, is the head of the PHPulmonary Hypertension (PH) High pressure in the blood vessels leading from the heart to the lungs is called pulmonary hypertension. The arteries in the lungs and the right side of the heart are affected by pulmonary hypertension. If untreated, the right side of the heart will weaken over time, eventually leading to heart failure and death. The WHO has defined five distinct groups of pulmonary hypertension, each with a different cause. CTEPH is a form of PH (WHO group 4). - References: mayoclinic.org and cdc.gov team at Okayama Medical Center (OMC) and also the center’s deputy director.
He’s a world-renowned BPA expert and the driving force behind the development of the Okayama Method for BPA. It has taken him more than 15 years to reach the present standards. He co-authored a slew of scientific papers on BPA and other subjects (Researchgate currently lists 280 publications).
Easy decision
Considering all of these factors, it was an easy decision.
It couldn’t have been more perfect!
Footnote: [1] The National Hospital Organization Okayama Medical Center (OMC) in Okayama, where I was treated, and the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center near Osaka are Japan’s two high-volume CTEPH expert centers.
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