Operative repair of atrial septal defect without cardiac catheterization

Thirty-three children with secundum or sinus venosus atrial septal defects underwent operative correction at the University of Minnesota Hospitals between January, 1972, and December, 1973. Nineteen of these patients (58%) did not have cardiac catheterization as part of their preoperative evaluation, since clinical assessment of the child, with or without corroborative evidence obtained by echocardiography and radionuclide angiocardiography, provided sufficient information to permit recommendation of operation. In the majority of patients with uncomplicated atrial septal defect, cardiac catheterization is not a necessary part of the preoperative evaluation and may be reserved for those patients with unusual clinical or laboratory features.