A rare case of impending paradoxical embolism with a complex patent foramen ovale.
A 68-year-old woman, who presented with pulmonary embolism, was diagnosed as having an impending paradoxical thromboembolism by transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, which revealed an entrapped thrombus in the atrial septum. The patient underwent surgery for thromboembolectomy. A patent foramen ovale (PFO) appeared as a tunnel with three openings into the left atrium; one opening located close to the antero-superior left atrial wall and two small atrial septal defects of a septum primum. A thrombus was trapped at two small atrial septal defects. This was a rare case of impending paradoxical embolism with complex morphology of PFO.
Division of Cardiology, Hyogo Health Service Association, 4-4-20 Mikage-Honmachi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, 658-0046, Japan. yasuko-yamaura@mvj.biglobe.ne.jp.
Yasuko
Y
Yamaura
Department of Cardiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Japan.
Kikuko
K
Obase
Department of Cardiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Japan.
Nozomi
N
Watanabe
Department of Cardiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Japan.
Kenzo
K
Fukuhara
Department of Cardiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Japan.
Terumasa
T
Koyama
Department of Cardiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Japan.
Akihiro
A
Hayashida
Department of Cardiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Japan.
Hiroyuki
H
Okura
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Japan.
Kazuo
K
Tanemoto
Department of Cardiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Japan.
Kiyoshi
K
Yoshida
Impending paradoxical embolism; Patent foramen ovale; Pulmonary embolism; Transesophageal echocardiography