Simplified percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale and atrial septal defect with use of plain fluoroscopy: Single operator experience in 110 consecutive patients.

Objective: Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) and atrial septal defect (ASD) is routinely performed under general anesthesia or deep sedation and use of transesophageal (TEE) or intracardiac echocardiography, incurring longer duration and higher cost. We have used a simplified, economical, fluoroscopy-only guided approach with local anesthesia, and herein report our data.

Methods: The study includes 112 procedures in 110 patients with PFO (n=75) or ASD (n=35), with use of an Amplatzer occluder, heparin and prophylactic antibiotics.

Right ventricular outflow tract obstruction caused by double-chambered right ventricle presenting in adulthood.

Congenital heart diseases that cause obstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract are often difficult to diagnose. We report the case of a 49-year-old man who presented with long-standing shortness of breath on exertion. Imaging revealed right ventricular outflow tract obstruction caused by a double-chambered right ventricle, and he was referred for surgical correction.

Left ventricular post-infraction pseudoaneurysm mimicking mitral valve endocarditis.

In this report we present a patient who was initially diagnosed as suffering from mitral valve endocarditis. The proper use of diagnostic modalities revealed a pseudo aneurysm of the left ventricle which was mimicking mitral valve vegetations. This allowed better planning of the subsequent operation.

C-reactive protein/interleukin-6 ratio as marker of the size of the uncomplicated thoracic aortic aneurysms.

Objectives: The role of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as markers in the prognosis of asymptomatic thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) patients has not been well established. As such, we evaluated a group of patients for a possible association between serum CRP and IL-6 and aneurysm dimension.

Methods: Serum CRP and IL-6 were determined and aneurysmal size was measured in 26 patients with TAA.