INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Ostium secundum atrial septal defects require closure. Echocardiographic studies have reported that, in 7% of cases, the Amplatzer occluder is orientated perpendicular to the rim of the defect. This article describes the use of an ancillary technique involving a balloon catheter that enables the Amplatzer device to be positioned transversely. METHODS We report six ...

Ventricular septal defect concurrent with left ventricular aneurysm is unusual in postinfarction patients. The complex anatomy is challenging for occluder deployment in transcatheter closure and associated with high risk of aneurysm perforation. We present a case of transcatheter closure of a large postinfarction ventricular septal defect with an Amplatzer septal occluder in a 71-year-old woman...

OBJECTIVES This study sought to compare the safety, efficacy and clinical utility of the Amplatzer septal occluder (ASO) for closure of secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) with surgical closure. BACKGROUND The clinical utility of a device such as the ASO can only be judged against the results of contemporaneous surgery. METHODS A multicenter, nonrandomized concurrent study was performed in ...

BACKGROUND Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) is a commoncardiac malformation whose treatment locally has been surgical ligation via a lateral thoracotomy. Device closure of the ductus was first performed at the Mater hospital in 1999 in a ten year old male using a five millilitre detachable cook coil. In 2000 the Amplatzer device was introduced to close larger ducts. Subsequently these devices hav...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an independent risk factor for stroke. Anticoagulation therapy has a risk of intracerebral hemorrhage. The use of percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) closure devices is an alternative to anticoagulation therapy. Echocardiography has a leading role in LAA closure procedure in patient selection, during the procedure and during followup. A comprehensive echocardiog...

Atrial septal defect closure is now routinely performed using a percutaneous approach under echocardiographic guidance. Centrally located, secundum defects are ideal for device closure but there is considerable morphological variation in size and location of the defects. A small proportion of atrial septal defects may have multiple fenestrations and these are often considered unsuitable for dev...

OBJECTIVE This study sought to prove the safety and feasibility of intraoperative device closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) with transthoracic minimal invasion in the older patients. METHODS From January 2006 to December 2009, 47 patients aged 50 years or more and suffered from atrial septal defect were enrolled in our institution. Patients were divided into two groups, 27 of which in grou...