Modified percutaneous catheter method (without X-ray guidance) for interventional occlusion of atrial septal defects

  Patient 1, female, 17 years old, was admitted to our cardiac surgery department for minimally invasive treatment after a heart murmur was detected for more than 2 months before the entrance examination. He was admitted to our cardiac surgery department for minimally invasive treatment. Combining medical history, physical signs and auxiliary examinations, he was diagnosed with “congenital heart disease and atrial septal defect”. The echocardiogram showed that the atrial defect was of secondary foramen ovale type, 26mm*20mm in diameter, 6mm from the stump of inferior vena cava and no stump on the side of aorta. After discussion in the department, a modified percutaneous catheter approach (without X-ray guidance) for interventional closure of the atrial septal defect was considered possible. After thorough preoperative preparation and close cooperation with the medical and nursing staff of the relevant departments, Dr. Gu Xinghua, deputy chief physician, performed the interventional sealing of the atrial septal defect in our “one-stop” hybridized operating room. The femoral vein was punctured, and under the guidance of cardiac ultrasound, a suitable domestic atrial septal defect blocker was selected and successfully blocked in one go. The entire procedure was not guided by X-ray, and the operation took only 20 minutes. Patient 2, male, 16 years old, had an atrial septal defect of secondary foramen ovale type with a diameter of 27 mm*22 mm and only 4 mm from the inferior vena cava stump, which was also successfully occluded with a modified catheter method. On the third postoperative day, a repeat echocardiogram, chest radiograph, electrocardiogram, and blood count showed satisfactory blocker morphology, no residual shunt, no regurgitation of the mitral and tricuspid valves, and sinus rhythm. The results were satisfactory and all were discharged cured.  As one of the most common precordial diseases, the treatment of atrial septal defect can best reflect the development of minimally invasive cardiac treatment, which mainly includes: percutaneous catheter interventional sealing, surgical minimally invasive transthoracic small incision interventional sealing, small axillary incision repair, small sternal incision repair, full thoracoscopic repair, “da Vinci” full robotic repair, etc. As an interventional occlusion of atrial defect without extracorporeal circulation, it is widely used in the world. However, all of these interventional occlusion procedures have their own advantages and disadvantages. The percutaneous catheter method requires X-ray guidance, which inevitably causes X-ray damage to the surgeon and the patient; the minimally invasive surgical method also inevitably causes incisional and cardiac trauma to the patient. The newly developed modified percutaneous catheter interventional occlusion is the best interventional occlusion method that avoids the above major disadvantages of the traditional catheter method and the minimally invasive surgical method, i.e., no X-ray guidance is required, and the procedure is completed by puncturing the femoral vein under the guidance of cardiac ultrasound. The principle of modified percutaneous catheter interventional occlusion is simple and no special equipment is needed. The reason why it has not been carried out in large numbers in the past is related to the physician’s philosophy and operating habits on the one hand, and the requirements for the physician on the other hand, such as rich clinical experience in minimally invasive small incision surgical interventional occlusion and catheter interventional occlusion under the guidance of cardiac ultrasound, the ability to read cardiac ultrasound, strong manipulation of catheters and guidewires, and a certain spatial imagination of cardiac anatomy. and spatial imagination of cardiac anatomy.