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Updated: Dec 21, 2025
Echocardiographic Evaluation of Atrial Communications before Transcatheter Closure
Published on: February 8, 2022
Personalized Three-Dimensional Printing and Echoguided Procedure Facilitate Single Device Closure for Multiple Atrial
1State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100037, China.
Background:
To evaluate the feasibility of using a single device to close multiple atrial septal defects (ASDs) under the guidance of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and with the aid of three-dimensional (3D) printing models.
Methods:
Sixty-two patients with multiple ASDs were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty of these patients underwent TTE-guided closure (3D printing and TTE group) after a simulation of occlusion in 3D printing models. The remaining 32 patients underwent ASD closure under fluoroscopic guidance (conventional group). Closure status was assessed immediately and at 6 months after device closure.
Results:
Successful transcatheter closure with a single device was achieved in 26 patients in the 3D printing and TTE group and 27 patients in the conventional group. Gender, age [18.8 ± 15.9 (3-51) years in the 3D printing and TTE group; 14.0 ± 11.6 (3-50) years in the conventional group], mean maximum distance between defects, prevalence of 3 atrial defects and large defect distance (defined as distance ≥7 mm), and occluder size used were similarly distributed between groups. However, the 3D printing and TTE group had lower frequency of occluder replacement (3.8% vs 59.3%, p < 0.0001), prevalence of mild residual shunts (defined as <5 mm) immediately (19.2% vs 44.4%, p < 0.05) and at 6 months (7.7% vs 29.6%, p < 0.05) after the procedure, and cost (32960.8 ± 2018.7 CNY vs 41019.9 ± 13758.2 CNY, p < 0.01).
Conclusion:
The combination of the 3D printing technology and ultrasound-guided interventional procedure provides a reliable new therapeutic approach for multiple ASDs, especially for challenging cases with large defect distance.
