title: A novel technique to remove a right atrial thrombotic mass attached to a patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure device.
abstract: Any percutaneously implanted foreign device carries the potential risk of thrombus formation. If a thrombus is detected after device implantation during follow-up, in most cases anticoagulation therapy is sufficient to resolve the thrombus. If the anticoagulation concept fails, surgery has been the only alternative option to remove thrombotic masses. This case of a patient with a large thrombus formation attached to a PFO closure device who denied surgery demonstrates that mechanical percutaneous clot retrieval is feasible with the AngioVac aspiration system (Vortex Medical, Inc., Norwell, MA). © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: CardioVascular Center Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wunderlich
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Franke
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sievert
keywords: patent foramen ovale; percutaneous device closure; thrombus formation; thrombus removal