Complicated transcatheter closure of postinfarction ventricular acute septal defect

The ventricular septal rupture is an uncommon complication of myocardial infarction (MI) with a reported incidence of 0.2% in the thrombolytic era. The outcome remains extremely poor, and surgical defect closure still remains the only therapeutic option improving survival. There are single reports based on a small series of case reports about transcatheter closure of postinfarction ventricular septal defects (VSD) and experience is limited. We present a case of a 71-year-old man with a posteroinferior MI complicated by a ventricular septal rupture with 24 mm width. Due to the severity of the case, surgical approach was denied; we attempted transcatheter closure of the defect in a lifesaving situation. The VSD was partially closed with a 26 mm Amplatzer® septal occluder (AGA Medical Corp., Plymouth, Minnesota) without adequate expansion of the right disc, due the complexity of the tract. The patient died one day after the procedure.