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 ...

Percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion has emerged as an exciting and effective modality for stroke prophylaxis in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who are deemed too high risk for anticoagulation with warfarin or newer anticoagulants. The Amplatzer devices have been used in LAA occlusion for more than a decade, starting with off label use of an atrial septal occluder ...

I read with interest the article by Cowley et al. [1] on transcatheter closure of Fontan fenestrations with the Amplatzer. In the introduction section, they state that there are a variety of transcatheter methods to close the fenestrations and mention clamshell device, Rashkind ductal umbrella, coil, and Amplatzer septal occluder. I would like to draw the attention of the readers to our reporte...

OBJECTIVES Amplatzer septal occluder (ASO)-associated cardiac perforation (CP) at our institution prompted this retrospective review. BACKGROUND Cardiac perforation is a rare complication after transcatheter atrial septal defect (ASD) closure. METHODS To identify CP after transcatheter ASD closure with ASO, cardiac events (CE) describing definite CP, hemopericardium, pericardial effusion, c...

BACKGROUND Use of the Amplatzer septal occluder (ASO) for the closure of secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) has recently become the procedure of choice, while earlier the only treatment for ASD was surgical closure. This study compares the right ventricular indices of the ASO group with the surgical closure group one year after intervention in adults. METHODS From January 2008 to February 20...

Transcatheter closure of small and moderate sizes of Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) is a standard and well accepted form of treatment. The aim of this study is to describe the experience of transcatheter closure of PDA in Penang Hospital. All patients who underwent transcatheter closure of PDA at our institution between 20th January 2006 and 27th June 2008 were retrospectively identified and st...

A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is one or more holes in the wall that separates the right and left ventricles of the heart. VSD is one of the most common congenital (present from birth) heart defects. Many types of VSDs have been reported, including congenital VSDs, post-infarction VSDs (1), and post-traumatic VSDs (2). Furthermore, there are four types of congenital VSDs; perimembranous VSD ...