Transcatheter intracardiac device implantation for atrial level defects and thrombosis: a call for randomized, controlled data.

bioengineered septal occluder devices (7). These devices showed rapid complete neo-endothelialization. The scaffold can be heparin-coated in order to decrease further the thrombogenicity of the implant surface. The basic concept of this evolving device, however, is its biodegradability. Especially in children with an expected implant persistence of some 80 years, the degradation of the implant after ingrowth and concurrent replacement by autologous host tissue might be a concept not only to minimize foreign-body reactions (such as perforations) but also to avoid the potential for yet unknown long-term sequelae.