rious complications after esophagectomy, and it occurs in 5%–29% of patients [1]. Although there are no standardizedmethods for treating intrathoracic leakage, the treatment options include surgery, external drainage, and endoscopic treatment. A 68-year-oldmanwas hospitalizedwith a mild cough associatedwith oral intake. He had been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus 18 mont...

INTRODUCTION Transcatheter closure has become the treatment of choice for secundum atrial septal defects (ASD II), but particularly in small children, there is concern regarding procedure-related complications. CASE DESCRIPTION We report on a 10-month-old infant, body weight of 6.4 kg, with a large ASD who was referred for failure to thrive and dyspnea on exertion. Echocardiography showed two...

Percutaneous transcatheter atrial septal defect (ASD) closure is a widely used technique that has replaced open-heart surgical closure in many centers. The most common implant is the Amplatzer septal occluder which seems to be a highly effective and safe device. However, there are reports of complications associated with its implantation. We report a 9-year-old boy who presented with complete a...

We describe a 17-year-old patient with an atrial septal defect who underwent device closure with a second generation Sideris buttoned device at 4 years of age. She presented 13 years after the procedure with the acute onset of chest discomfort, at which time a chest radiograph showed migration of the wire of the right atrial counter-occluder to the lateral aspect of the right atrial wall, with ...

BACKGROUND Device closure of Secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) is an accepted mode of treatment in selected patients with a suitable defect. The major initial concern over the long-term outcome has been erosions and more recently development of aortic regurgitation. Objective was to assess the intermediate and long term outcome of patients with device closure of ASD with special reference to ...

The use of the Tandem Heart percutaneous ventricular assist device (Tandem Heart pVAD, Cardiac Assist technologies, Pittsburgh, PA) as a bridge to recovery or to other cardiopulmonary support systems has been rising. One requirement for placement of this device is an intraatrial septostomy which is usually closed during the surgical insertion of more permanent ventricular assist devices. We pre...

In selected patients, transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects with the AMPLATZER Septal Occluder has yielded excellent results. However, there is a slight risk of device embolization after deployment. We report the case of a 26-year-old woman in whom an embolized AMPLATZER device was retrieved percutaneously from the right pulmonary artery. We also discuss important technical principles ...

OBJECTIVES This study sought to compare the safety and efficacy of the HELEX septal occluder (HSO) with surgical repair of atrial septal defect (ASD). BACKGROUND The HSO is a low-profile, double-disk occluder device for percutaneous closure of secundum ASD. METHODS Patients were enrolled (HSO arm prospectively, surgery arm prospectively/retrospectively) from 14 U.S. sites and followed up fo...

A 29-year-old woman was referred to our institute for symptomatic hypoxemia. Her dyspnea was aggravated while sitting or standing and relieved while in supine position. She did not have any pulmonary disease. Transthoracic echocardiography and heart computed tomography revealed an underestimated small atrial septal defect (ASD) with a left-to-right shunt. A cardiac catheterization was performed...

BACKGROUND Transcatheter closure of atrial septal defects (ASD) has been accepted world-wide as an alternative to surgical closure with excellent results. This interventional, non-surgical technique plays an important role in the treatment of ASD mostly in the developing world where resources are limited. OBJECTIVES To report the outcomes and short term follow-up of transcatheter closure of A...