Is interventional treatment of pediatric ventricular septal defect effective?

  The annual prevalence of congenital heart disease (CHD) in China is 6.78%, with 100,000 to 150,000 newborn CHD cases, of which ventricular septal defect (VSD) accounts for about 20% of CHD. The current treatment includes traditional surgical treatment, interventional treatment, and the medical-surgical mosaic treatment developed in recent years.  The development of interventional treatment for pediatric VSD: In 1988, Lock first reported the successful application of the Rashkind double-sided umbrella blocker to close a myocardial VSD without surgical indication due to critical condition, and subsequent studies on the design of the blocker were largely based on the principle of the Rashkind double-umbrella blocker. The Rashkind method requires that the defect must not exceed 8 mm in diameter and be at least 1 cm from the aortic valve attachment point. In 1997, Sideris modified his button patch device for VSD occlusion. It has the following advantages: (1) patches of various sizes can be delivered through a small delivery sheath; (2) the thinness of the patch rarely interferes with valve closure and makes it easier to avoid the important anatomic structures mentioned above; and (3) it can be manipulated by a pushing system along the guidewire, making it more maneuverable. The disadvantages are the high incidence of postoperative residual shunts, the complexity of the operation, the tendency to displace the patch, and the high cost.  Latiff et al. 1999 used a spring ring to seal a 10-month-old child with multiple muscular ventricular defects with success. Its main advantage is that it is simple, inexpensive, less invasive, and can be passed through the VSD via the intravenous route with a 4-5F catheter, significantly reducing the trauma to the large peripheral vessels in infants and children. In addition, its softness and ease of flexion allow it to be adapted to the myocardial ventricular defect. However, it can only be used for VSDs smaller than 4 mm in diameter, is easily dislodged, and is not suitable for perimembranous VSDs, and there are only a few case reports of its use.  In 1998, the Amplatzer blocker was developed in the United States, which is small, easy to retrieve, and can be placed repeatedly, and has shown advantages in the interventional treatment of myocardial VSD with high technical success rate and reliable efficacy. In 2002, the US FDA approved the clinical trial of the VSD Amplazter, and then the VSD intervention was widely carried out in China and abroad. In 2002, the VSD Amplazter blocker started to be used in China, and VSD interventions were carried out one after another in hospitals above the third level in China; in 2003, the domestic blocker was marketed, which led to a rapid increase in VSD intervention cases.  Current situation of domestic VSD interventional treatment: VSD intervention has been widely carried out in China in recent years. According to the anatomical site, the VSDs suitable for interventional treatment are myocardial defects and perimembranous defects. The safety of blocking myocardial VSD is relatively high because it is far from the important parts such as valves and conduction bundles. However, myocardial VSDs account for only 2% of the total number of VSDs, and the majority of VSDs occur in the perimembranous region, which has significantly higher complications than myocardial VSDs due to its proximity to important anatomical structures such as the aortic valve, atrioventricular valve, and conduction bundle, and the lack of sufficient margins around the defect for the blocker to attach. According to preliminary statistics in 2005, the interventional complications of perimembranous VSDs were significantly higher than those of myocardial VSDs at Fu Wai Hospital, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, Guangzhou Heart Institute, Xijing Hospital, Shenyang Hospital, and Shenyang Hospital. According to the preliminary statistics in 2005, the technical success rate was 97%, the important complications 0.13%, and the mortality rate 0.03% in 7 hospitals including Fu Wai Hospital, Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, Guangzhou Heart Institute, Xijing Hospital, Shenyang Military General Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of West China University of Medical Sciences, and Second Affiliated Hospital for precordial disease interventions of 3000 cases. With the development of echocardiography technology, cardiac ultrasound plays an important role in preoperative diagnosis, intraoperative detection and postoperative follow-up of VSD. Zhang Yuqi et al. evaluated the value of transthoracic echocardiography, transesophageal echocardiography, and three-dimensional echocardiography in transcatheter closure of perimembranous VSD, and confirmed that echocardiography can accurately display the size and location of perimembranous VSD and the anatomical morphology of its edges, and plays an important role in the initial screening of preoperative cases, intraoperative monitoring, selection of occluders, judgment of immediate results, and postoperative follow-up, which is It is a safe and effective monitoring method for perimembranous VSD occlusion by cardiac catheterization. With the concept of inlay treatment for complex precordial disease in infants and children, Gao Wei et al. performed intraoperative inlay treatment on 6 cases of small infants with myocardial VSD, and the results showed no complications or hospital deaths. It was confirmed that inlay therapy is a safe and effective method for children with myocardial VSD who do not easily tolerate surgery and extracorporeal circulation. Currently, inlay therapy has been gradually introduced in large cardiac centers. With the advancement of technology in all aspects, the total number of VSD interventions in China is now the highest in the world. The accumulation of rich experience has been accompanied by many problems.