Patent foramen ovale is frequently associated with embolic cerebrovascular accidents. The diagnosis of patent foramen ovale (PFO) is easier since the advent of transesophageal echocardiography but is invasive and does not allow to detect extracardiac RLS. Contrast transcranial Doppler ultrasound enables the detection of the passage of a contrast material injected into a peripheral vein to the c...

A simple, safe, and rapid radiologic technique is described for trigeminal puncture via the foramen ovale. A radiopaque marker is placed 3 cm lateral to the labial commissure. Then, under fluoroscopic guidance, the patient's head is turned until the marker is projected vertically, over the foramen ovale. The needle can be advanced along the anatomically safe line determined by the foramen ovale...

We report three consecutive cases of patients who had refractory hypoxemia and paradoxical embolism during the course of pulmonary embolism. Transesophageal echocardiography showed an atrial septal aneurysm and a patent foramen ovale in all patients. The latter was detected by an early and massive passage of contrast from the right to the left atrium. We suggest that the presence of an atrial s...

A67-year-old woman admitted to the hospital with syncope was found to have platypnea-orthodeoxia caused by a dilated aortic root. A transesophageal echocardiogram was taken in the supine and sitting positions (Figure). The images taken in the supine position showed the foramen ovale was closed. The images taken in the sitting position show the foramen ovale was wide open, with a massive right-t...

Foramen ovale and spinosum are important foramina of the greater wing of the sphenoid. Normal variations in their shapes and sizes are quite common and widely studied. In the present study, conducted in the Department of Anatomy of School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 25 dried human skulls were examined for anatomic variations of the foramina of the greater wing of the sphenoi...

Brain abscess results from local or metastatic septic spread to the brain. The primary infectious site is often undetected, more commonly so when it is distant. Unlike pediatric congenital heart disease, minor intracardiac right-to-left shunting due to patent foramen ovale has not been appreciated as a cause of brain abscess in adults. Here we present a case of brain abscess associated with a p...

The mean percentage of cryptogenic strokes among ischemic strokes is 31%, of which one-third may be associated with patent foramen ovale. The foramen ovale is required for blood flow through the fetal atrial septum. It is formed as of the fourth week of gestation, and this leads to right-left interatrial shunt that allows the passage of oxygenated blood to systemic circulation. In 75% of cases,...

BACKGROUND Many have proposed a relation between presence of a patent foramen ovale, with or without atrial septal aneurysm, and cryptogenic stroke. The effect of foramen ovale closure on the risk for subsequent strokes is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS Transcatheter closure of a patent foramen ovale was undertaken in 36 patients with known right-to-left atrial shunting and presumed paradoxical...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES To investigate the relationship between patent foramen ovale and cryptogenic stroke in patients aged > or =55 years. METHODS This prospective study determined the presence of patent foramen ovale and atrial septal aneurysm using transesophageal echocardiography in 262 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of probable cryptogenic stroke. Data from 44 patients aged >...

BACKGROUND Right-to-left shunt through a patent foramen ovale is frequently diagnosed by contrast echocardiography and can be particularly prominent in the presence of elevated pressures in the right side of the heart. Its prognostic significance in patients with pulmonary thromboembolism, however, is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS The present prospective study included 139 consecutive patients...