Right ventricular thrombosis after peritoneovenous shunt: nonoperative treatment with successful outcome

Complications of peritoneovenous shunt for intractable ascites include a high propensity to malfunction, facilitation of infection, and the induction of coagulopathies. Right heart thrombosis is a rarely encountered adverse effect, the management of which has not yet been defined. We report a patient with an extensive right heart thrombus in the setting of a blocked peritoneovenous shunt that was discovered incidentally and treated expectantly with subsequent complete resolution and satisfactory outcome.