Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common congenital cardiac abnormality that affects one-quarter of the general population. Hypoxaemia, because large right-to-left shunt, rare complication PFO and occurs under exceptional physiological conditions. Case: This 90-year-old lady presented with progressive dyspnoea over several months. At presentation to hospital, she was hypoxaemic pO2 53 mmHg oxygen...

A 56-year-old man with symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) was referred to our arrhythmia center for pulmonary vein isolation by catheter ablation. The patient underwent routine transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) examination before the catheter ablation. The cardiac MR examination consisted of time-resolved (4-dimensional) contrast-enhanced MR angiog-rap...

Otitis media and otitis media with effusion are among the most common childhood illnesses and contribute a great deal to health care costs. The cause of otitis media is multifactorial. Eustachian tube dysfunction, bacterial or viral infection of the middle ear, and nasal inflammation resulting from allergic rhinitis or upper respiratory infection are acknowledged contributing factors. Data from...

A 28 year old man with a repaired cleft palate presenting with symptoms of a patulous eustachian tube (PET) unilaterally after uneventful Le Fort I maxillary osteotomy is reported. PET is a rare condition which is unknown in relation to orthognathic surgery and may represent a rare complication. Introduction. Under normal circumstances, the Eustachian tube (ET) remains closed at rest but is ope...

BACKGROUND Eustachian tube dysfunction is common and implicated in persistent middle ear disease. Recent studies suggest the promise of balloon dilatation of the Eustachian tube to modify local anatomy and physiology, restoring normal function. OBJECTIVES A literature review of the outcomes of balloon dilatation of the Eustachian tube was conducted, assessing four criteria (tympanometry, otos...

UNLABELLED Foreign bodies of the external ear are very common; the same can not be said about foreign bodies of the middle ear, especially of the Eustachian tube. CASE PRESENTATION Alcoholic and psychopathic patient presented a foreign body (barbecue wooden stick) purposefully introduced in his middle ear and Eustachian tube during an act of delinquency. The foreign body was stuck in the tube...