Recurrent Patent Foramen Ovale-Related Cerebral Infarcts Alternately Causing Bilateral Hand Paresis

Isolated hand paresis is a rare presentation of stroke, which mostly results from a lesion in the cortical hand motor area, a knob-like area within the precentral gyrus. I report the case of a patient who experienced recurrent ischemic stroke alternately involving bilateral hand knob areas, causing isolated hand paresis. There was no abnormal finding on brain and neck magnetic resonance angiography, transthoracic echocardiography, and 48-h Holter monitoring, and there were no abnormal immunologic and coagulation laboratory findings. The only embolic source was found to be a patent foramen ovale, which was proven on transesophageal echocardiography. The patient underwent percutaneous device closure of patent foramen ovale after alternately repeated paresis of both hands despite antiplatelet treatment. This case suggests that ischemic stroke affecting the cortical knob area, albeit extremely rare, may recur due to a patent foramen ovale, and it necessitates complete investigation, including transesophageal echocardiography, to identify possible embolic sources.