Secundum atrial septal defect is the most common form of interatrial communication. Atrial septal defects can present in young adults with a variety of clinical presentations, including breathlessness on effort, palpitations, or stroke. Clinical heart failure and resting desaturation are both rarely seen in young patients. We present a case of a young man with a secundum atrial septal defect and a diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis, only made after two attempts at surgical correction of the atrial septal defect, with pericardiectomy at the third attempt and subsequent symptomatic improvement.

Only few reports have described successful simultaneous transcatheter intervention for CHD in infants. We present an infant with secundum atrial septal defect complicated by valvular pulmonary stenosis. Percutaneous transcatheter pulmonary valvuloplasty was performed first, followed by transcatheter closure of the secundum atrial septal defect uneventfully. Simultaneous transcatheter correction is an effective therapeutic option even in infants.

Objectives: To compare surgical as opposed to percutaneous interventional closure of isolated atrial septal defects in the oval fossa in terms of hospital stay, efficacy, and complications, and to study the respective role of the two techniques in current practice. Methods: Between January 1998 and April 2004, 126 out of 1210 patients treated at our institution for closure of an isolated defect in the oval fossa were aged less than 6 years. The mean age of these 126 patients at procedure was 4.2 plus or minus 1 year. The ratio of females to males was 74 to 52. Results: Of the patients, 62% were treated successfully using a percutaneous approach. The groups treated surgically or percutaneously did not differ for age, gender, or indications for treatment. No deaths occurred. The rates of total and major complications were higher in the group undergoing surgical closure, at 34% versus 9%, p less than 0.0001, and 10.5% versus 1%, p equal to 0.01, respectively. Embolisation of the device requiring subsequent surgery occurred in 1% of patients. The stay in hospital was shorter in those closed percutaneously, at 3.2 plus or minus 0.9 days versus 6.8 plus or minus 2.8 days, p equal to 0.0001. During a mean follow-up of 3.4 plus or minus 1.9 years, no major complications occurred in either group, and symptoms improved significantly in both groups. Additional sequels occurred in 2 patients who had major complications subsequent to surgical closure. Conclusions: Even in young children, it is both feasible and safe to close defects in the oval fossa percutaneously. Compared to surgical closure, the transcatheter approach allows a shorter stay in hospital, and has a lower rate of complications. Early and mid-term follow-up has confirmed the safety and efficacy of both techniques.

Since June 1998, we have used an Amplatzer device whenever considered appropriate in patients with isolated defects within the oval fossa. The aim of this study was to define the total cohort of patients with isolated defects in the oval fossa seen at this hospital, so as to assess the impact of this policy on contemporary management. In the two-year period commencing 1st June 1998, 116 patients older than 6 months were seen with an isolated septal defect within the oval fossa. Mean age at closure or last review was 5.8 years, with a range from 0.5 to 20 years. In total, 42 (36%) patients were assigned to surgical closure, 25 (22%) to closure using an Amplatzer device, and 49 (42%) remained under clinical follow up. Direct referral for surgical closure occurred in 24 (21%) patients, in whom transcatheter closure was considered not appropriate after transthoracic echocardiography. Transoesophageal echocardiography was performed in 45 (39%) patients to assess suitability for closure using the Amplatzer device. Of these, 20 (44% of the group undergoing transoesophageal echocardiography) were considered unsuitable for closure in this fashion. Of these, 8 were referred for surgery and 2 with small defects were considered not to require closure. Patients undergoing closure with the device were older than the group referred for surgical closure, having a median age of 7.8 versus 3.6 years, and stayed for a shorter period in hospital. Those closed using the device stayed for 2 days, as opposed to a median of 5 days, with a range from 4 to 10 days for those undergoing surgical closure. Closure was complete as assessed by echocardiography after follow up of 1–3 months in both groups. There were no recognised complications related to insertion of the device, whereas transient postoperative morbidity occurred in 38% of those closed surgically. Insertion of an Amplatzer device was considered to be appropriate in 37% of patients older than 6 months requiring closure of an atrial septal defect in the oval fossa.