Bilateral brachial embolectomy successfully restored normal circulation in a 46-year-old man with paradoxical embolism and a thrombus in transit through a patent foramen ovale.
Case Report (n=1)
This case highlights the utility of transesophageal echocardiography in diagnosing paradoxical embolism via a patent foramen ovale in a patient presenting with acute upper extremity ischemia.
Figure 1. An obese 46-year-old man came to the emergency room with the acute onset of numbness and a cold feeling in both hands; he had had shortness of breath and chest pain for the preceding 48 hours. Physical examination showed that he had no radial pulses. After arteriography that revealed emboli involving the right brachial and left axillary arteries, the patient underwent bilateral brachial embolectomy, and normal circulation was restored. Because paradoxical embolism was strongly suspected, two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography was performed with an omniplane transducer. Panel A shows an image of the heart in the oblique plane (50 degrees), . . .
Srivastava et al. (1997) conducted a case report in Paradoxical embolism (n=1). Bilateral brachial embolectomy was evaluated on Restoration of normal circulation. Bilateral brachial embolectomy successfully restored normal circulation in a 46-year-old man with paradoxical embolism and a thrombus in transit through a patent foramen ovale.