Accident de plongée… et si c'était le cœur? À propos d'un cas

The patent foramen ovale among adults is closed in 75% of cases. The patent foramen ovale can be at the origin of complications which incite us to have it closed. The right-to-left shunt entails to paradoxical gaseous embolism. For some years, the risks of decompression skiness among patients eving patent foramen ovale are better known and described in sports or spare-time activities. Transoesophageal echography with a test of contrast is, at the present day the “gold standard” for the PFO diagnosis. But news techniques are expanded and it is in this field of application that ultra sounds and transcranial contrast doppler sonography have now found predominant position. If the treatment of decompression illness relies on hyperbaric recompression, the management of a patent foramen ovale is not clearly defined. We report the case of a young professional diver who had presented a serious medullar accident, which was detected as patent ovale foramen. This diagnosis has lead to final medical decision: to stop diving.