Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 1998;14:516
© 1998 Elsevier Science NL
Images in cardio-thoracic surgery |
Caught in the act
A. Delabays,
P. Ruchat,
L.K. von Segesser,
L. Kappenberger
Department of Cardiology and Cardio-vascular Surgery, University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
Received 5 August 1998;
received in revised form 7 August 1998;
accepted 8 September 1998.
Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 21 3142280; fax: +41 21 3142278; e-mail: patrick.ruchat@chuv.hospvd.ch
A 59-year-old woman presented with acute pulmonary embolism. A routine echocardiography showed pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular dysfunction and a mass floating in the left atrium (
Fig. 1
).
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Fig. 1. Transesophageal view of an elongated thrombus crossing the interatrial septum with its major portion in the left atrium (LA, left atrium; RA, right atrium; AO, aorta).
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Numerous clots could also be removed from the left pulmonary artery (
Fig. 2
). An inferior vena cava filter was inserted post-operatively and the patient recovered uneventfully. At the 6 months follow-up visit, she was asymptomatic.
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Fig. 2. Macroscopic view of the clot removed under cardio-pulmonary by-pass. Arrows indicate inprint of the foramen ovale.
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