Unusual treatment of patent foramen ovale after pneumonectomy

To the Editors: As has often been said by Dr Harold C. Urschel Jr, pneumonectomy is “a disease” in itself. It is a major procedure with frequent perioperative complications such as empyema, fistula, cardiac problems or respiratory insufficiency. Besides frequent post-operative cardiac and respiratory complications, long-term sequelae are also seen. After pneumonectomy, anatomical adaptations occur with repositioning of intrathoracic structures. Common changes are elevation of the hemidiaphragm (especially after phrenic nerve damage), mediastinal shift, diminished intercostal space and filling of the postpneumonectomy space with fluid. Infrequently, these adaptations may lead to invalidating complications. The most frequent complication is the so-called post-pneumonectomy syndrome caused by compression of the remaining bronchus against the vertebral column or aorta. Since positioning of the organs may take years, symptoms may occur even after 5–10 yrs. In this letter, we will focus on a rare complication, shunting through a patent foramen ovale (PFO), as a long-term complication of right-sided pneumonectomy or bilobectomy. Only a few cases have been published, although this complication might be under-reported since the diagnosis of PFO is difficult, especially after pneumonectomy. This letter describes three patients who were diagnosed with shunting through a PFO following lung resection. In these patients, right ventricular compression by the elevated right hemidiaphragm was the main cause of PFO and surgical plication of the right hemidiaphragm was sufficient to close the PFO. ### Patient A A 67-yr-old male underwent a right-sided pneumonectomy 14 yrs earlier because of a bronchial carcinoid. Partial resection of the pericardium with transection of the phrenic nerve were needed for complete resection He developed progressive dyspnoea during exercise and when bending down. Echocardiography demonstrated a right-to-left interatrial shunt when increasing intra-abdominal pressure (valsalva manoeuvre) with a shunt fraction of 18%. Further analysis with right heart catheterisation at our institution showed a mean right atrial resting pressure ( P ra …