complications, inflammatory bowel disease, pelvic malignancy, pelvic irradiation, pelvic surgery, or other traumatic causes (1-4). Also, it may cause distressing symptoms including vaginal discharge with vaginitis, continual leakage of flatus and feces through the vagina, severe skin excoriation, as well as incontinence and dysparenunia. Treatment for an enterovaginal fistula depends on the loc...

Transcatheter closure for atrial septal defect (ASD) and patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a promising alternative to surgical closure or anticoagulant therapy. A potential complication is thrombus formation on the device after implantation. From February 2001 to June 2003, 66 patients with atrial communication were treated successfully with the Amplatzer device (16 septal and 20 PFO occluders) or ...

INTRODUCTION Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) is considered an alternative to oral anticoagulation therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of the first- and second-generation AMPLATZER Devices for LAAC, AMPLATZER Cardiac Plug (ACP) versus AMPLATZER Amulet™. METHODS Procedural data, such as fluoroscopy time, radiation ...

Despite more than 10 years’ clinical experience, the role of percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) closure in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is still elusive. The reasons include the complexity of the procedure, the limited clinical information from controlled trials, and recent developments in the field of anticoagulation. A weak, grade IIb recommendation (ie, usefulne...

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a common congenital heart defect. All PDAs, regardless of size or degree of symptoms, require occlusion. Transcatheter PDA occlusion features fewer complications than trans-thoracic closure. It is also more cost-effective and has an excellent occlusion rate. Therefore, transcatheter PDA occlusion is accepted as the standard treatment option for PDA. However, tu...

UNLABELLED The Bentall procedure is the gold standard for treating aortic dissection complicated with valvular and ascending aorta disease. Recent results for this procedure have been excellent; nearly 100% of patients remain free of infective endocarditis in long-term follow-up. We report a case of delayed Streptococcus agalactiae infective endocarditis complicated by mycotic aneurysm in a man...

An idiopathic renal arteriovenous (AV) fistula is a rare malformation of the kidney that may present insidiously with heart failure or hematuria. The treatment may be challenging due to large fistula size that may limit endovascular management. The authors report a case of an 85-year-old Caucasian woman who presented with acute heart failure and was found to have a right renal AV fistula. Since...

Emerging technology with endovascular techniques has expanded our armamentarium to treat the aberrant right subclavian artery. We describe a hybrid technique using an Amplatzer plug in combination with a carotid subclavian bypass to treat a patient with dysphagia lusoria.

background: percutaneous transcatheter closure has been proposed as an alternative to surgical closure or long-term anticoagulation in patients with presumed paradoxical embolism and patent foramen ovale (pfo). methods: there were two symptomatic patients (29 and 47 years old) who underwent percutaneous transcatheter closure of pfo after at least two events of cerebral ischemia; one embolic eve...

We have recently used the Amplatzer septal occluder to close Fontan fenestrations. Between June 1998 and December 1999, 13 patients underwent transcatheter occlusion of their Fontan fenestrations. Systemic blood flow decreased significantly without a concomitant decrease in pulmonary blood flow. All residual shunts detectable by oximetry were at sites separate from those into which occlusion de...