Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common congenital defect in adults; its closure with an occluder device is safe with excellent clinical results. A rare and potentially fatal complication of this procedure is the device embolization. We report a case of a 52-year-old man with bicuspid aortic valve and surgically corrected aortic coarctation in which a PFO occluder device migrated to the abdominal aorta.

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a common congenital defect in adults; its closure with an occluder device is usually a safe procedure. However, a rare and potentially fatal complication is the device embolization. We report a case of a 52-year-old man with bicuspid aortic valve and surgically corrected aortic coarctation in which a PFO occluder device migrated to the abdominal aorta. We recommend paying attention to the risk factors before the intervention (PFO characteristics and multiple congenital defects) and to the clinical-echocardiographic follow-up, to prevent, recognize and treat this severe complication as soon as possible.