An Unusual Case of Impending Paradoxical Embolism Through a Patent Foramen Ovale in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Bhanu P Maturi; Ashwini Sharma; Kenneth J Wool; Zeyad Elmarzooky; Varshitha Kondapaneni

doi:10.7759/cureus.34964

An Unusual Case of Impending Paradoxical Embolism Through a Patent Foramen Ovale in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Cureus. 2023 Feb 14;15(2):e34964. doi: 10.7759/cureus.34964. eCollection 2023 Feb.

Authors

Bhanu P Maturi¹, Ashwini Sharma², Kenneth J Wool³, Zeyad Elmarzooky⁴, Varshitha Kondapaneni¹

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Montgomery, USA.
² Cardiology, Baptist Medical Center South, Montgomery, USA.
³ Cardiology, Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center, Salida, USA.
⁴ Cardiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Montgomery, USA.

Abstract

Impending paradoxical embolism (IPDE) is a clinical emergency with adverse outcomes. Due to its rarity, larger research cannot be obtained to provide definitive therapy alternatives. We report a case of a tumor embolus from a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) that caused a right atrial mass, pulmonary embolus, and impending paradoxical embolus via a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and its management.

Keywords: impending paradoxical embolism; patent foramen ovale; pulmonary embolism; renal cell carcinoma; thrombectomy.

Publication types

Case Reports