Percutaneous patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure is mainly performed for secondary prevention of presumed paradoxical embolism. Since a residual shunt has been associated with recurrent events, complete PFO closure is desirable. We report the first case of ultimately successful percutaneous PFO closure using successively 3 Amplatzer PFO devices.

Transcatheter placement of patent foramen ovale occluders (PFO) is a safe and effective alternative to conventional open heart surgery with surgical repair of patent foramen ovale. Most devices involved in this repair are made up of a nitinol frame and over time there have been sporadic reports of allergic reactions in some patients to these devices, which are a composite of 55% nickel and 45% ...

We report a case of a 37-year-old woman with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), after implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), who was admitted to our hospital because of focal infarctions in the right kidney and in the spleen. Echocardiography showed thrombi on the ICD electrode and the presence of patent foramen ovale. Patent foramen ovale was successfully clos...

We report a patient with hypoxia secondary to a right-to-left shunt through a patent foramen ovale, following aortic root, valve, and arch replacement due to an aortic dissection in the setting of the Marfan syndrome. Following the operation, he failed extubation twice due to hypoxia. An extensive workup revealed a right-to-left shunt previously not seen. The patent foramen ovale was closed usi...

Although patent foramen ovale is a relatively common disease, the presence of paradoxical embolism is a rare clinical condition, representing less than 2% of arterial ischemias. We report the case of a 55-year-old male diagnosed with massive pulmonary embolism and paradoxical embolism in the right arm, secondary to patent foramen ovale. We also highlight some uncertainties in the diagnosis and ...

Recent reports have documented an association between patent foramen ovale and obstructive sleep apnea. We report on a 51-year-old man with obstructive sleep apnea and recent stroke who was enrolled in a clinic trial evaluating the efficacy of closure of patent foramen ovale following ischemic stroke. He was randomly assigned to device closure. There was subjective dramatic improvement in sleep...

Two patients with long tunnel-type patent foramen ovale presented for elective transcatheter closure following transient ischaemic attack and stroke. Right to left shunting was confirmed on transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography. A new technique that used a transseptal procedure was devised to enable closure of the tunnel-type patent foramen ovale using the CardioSEAL transseptal o...

We present the case of a 28-year-old woman admitted to our department with respiratory distress, profound hypotension, and tenderness in the left upper abdominal quadrant and left calf. Ultrasound examination revealed left lower extremity thrombus as well as a floating thrombus in the right atrium attached to a patent foramen ovale. Spiral computed tomography revealed bilateral pulmonary artery...

Patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty frequently develop post-operative complication, such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary thromboembolism. However, it is not common coexisting deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary thromboembolisms, right atrial thrombus and acute cerebral infarction raised by thrombus through patent foramen ovale. We reported the patient who had multiple thrombi which w...

PURPOSE To evaluate by means of high-resolution CT the anatomic variations of the middle cranial fossa foramen. METHODS We examined 123 CT studies of the temporal bone in patients with no evidence of disease that might alter foraminal anatomy. A checklist of known variants and suspected structures was used as each case was systematically examined for the presence or absence of these foramina;...