Double-edged sword in the heart:  trapped deep venous thrombus in a patent foramen ovale.
Trapped thrombus in a patent foramen ovale is a rare condition. Echocardiography is the main tool for diagnosis and for determination of the treatment to choose. There are a number of treatment options for trapped deep venous thrombus in a patent foramen ovale, including surgical thrombectomy, thrombolytics, and anticoagulant therapy. All patients should be evaluated individually, because the systemic and pulmonary thromboembolism risk of all treatment options is like a 'double-edged sword'. Here, we report a case of a patient with trapped thrombus in the patent foramen ovale detected by echocardiography, and successfully treated with surgical thrombectomy under extracorporeal circulation.
Departments of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery, Ministry of Health Dişkapi Yildirim Beyazit Research and Educational Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. sadik.acikel@tkd.org.tr
Sadik
S
Acikel
Ahmet G
AG
Ertem
Ugursay
U
Kiziltepe
Mehmet
M
Dogan
Harun
H
Kilic
Ekrem
E
Yeter
D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods; D054092:Foramen Ovale, Patent / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*