OBJECTIVES Occlutech Figulla ASD Occluder (FSO) is an alternative device to Amplatzer Septal Occluder (ASO) with some structural innovations including increased flexibility, minimizing the amount of material implanted, and absence of the left atrial clamp. We aimed to report our experiences with FSO and compare the outcomes of this novel device versus ASO. INTERVENTIONS Between December 2005 ...

The Amplatzer septal occluder (ASO) has become the device of choice for interventional closure of atrial septal defects (ASDs) in many institutions during the last decades. Although excellent results have been reported for the device, concerns have arisen about the long-term complications (1). Of these complications, thrombus formation was rarely seen after 1 year in patients (2–4). This is the...

Case: A 36 year-old woman without significant past medical history was admitted with left-sided hemiparesis. Imaging studies confirmed a right middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke with normal carotid arteries. Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) showed right heart enlargement and a large secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) (Figure 1). Using TEE guidance, an ASD occluder device was placed withou...

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...

BACKGROUND Recent developments in cardiac MRI have extended the potential spectrum of diagnostic and interventional applications. The purpose of this study was to test the ability of MRI to perform transcatheter closures of secundum type atrial septal defects (ASD) and to assess ASD size and changes in right cardiac chamber volumes in the same investigation. METHODS AND RESULTS In 7 domestic ...

Figure 1: The pointed end of delivery cable was quite far cephalad from delivery sheath just after the release of the atrial septal defect occluder. (A and B) The cephalad ends of delivery sheath and delivery cable respectively This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak,...

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 ...

Cardiac erosion related to transcatheter atrial septal defect closure devices is of increasing concern. Erosion is reported to have occurred with most of currently available occluder devices. Perhaps due to the very large number of implants worldwide, the Amplatzer (St Jude) occluder is associated with the majority of cardiac erosion events reported in the literature. Best current estimates of ...

An 8-year-old boy with a 3.8 mm perimembranous ventricular septal defect (PmVSD) and abnormal inferior vena cava return was attempted cardiac catheterization to occlude the VSD. Through the right jugular vein and right femoral artery approach, an 8 mm Amplatzer VSD occluder was successfully deployed under fluoroscopic and echocardiographic guidance. After a 2 year follow-up, the patient is symp...

Embolization of the occlusion device after percutaneous closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) is a potential disastrous complication. The usual site of embolization is the right side of the heart including pulmonary artery, but the device embolization to the extracardiac aorta is extremely rare. Here, we report a successful percutaneous retrieval case of the embolized Amplatzer Septal Occluder ...