Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026

Echocardiographic Evaluation of Atrial Communications before Transcatheter Closure
Published on: February 8, 2022
Extracardial migration of an atrial septal defect occluder device
Ioannis Karampinis1, Stefan Pfleger, Kai Nowak
1Department of Surgery, Mannheim University Medical Centre, University of Heidelberg, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany. kai.nowak@umm.de.
Abstract:
Several complications have been reported regarding the percutaneous closure of secondary atrial septal defects such as erosion, thromboembolic events, arrhythmias, and endocarditis. In this report, we describe the case of a 75-year-old woman who underwent percutaneous closure of a secondary atrial septal defect with a 12 mm Amplatzer septal occluder. Six months after the uneventful implantation of the device, we manifested an asymptomatic late embolization of the device in the abdominal aorta. The device was surgically retrieved.

