Summary of the Experiences and Results of Transesophageal Ultrasound-Guided Ventricular Septal Defect and Atrial...

Ventricular septal defect (VSD) and atrial septal defect (ASD) are congenital heart diseases. The techniques of transthoracic closure (TC) and percutaneous closure (PC) for the treatment of VSD and ASD have continuously improved and matured. This study aimed to retrospectively analyze the therapeutic effects of TC and PC on VSD and ASD patients.

We retrospectively reviewed 928 patients (552 VSD and 376 ASD) who had undergone TC or PC guided by transesophageal ultrasound at the Department of Cardiac Macrovascular Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University between August 2010 and August 2020. We collected and evaluated the clinical data of the patients, including age, gender, weight, inlet and outlet diameters of defect, and the operation results of TC and PC. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze means and standard deviations (SD), and the Chi-square test was used to evaluate the difference between groups.

Among the 928 patients who were treated with the closure operation, there were no casualties, with 907 patients (97.7%) showing successful closure. Among the 552 VSD patients who were treated with TC, 540 showed successful close, while 12 cases required extracorporeal circulation after the failure of TC. Among the 376 patients with ASD, 256 patients were treated with TC, of which 251 were successful, and five were failures, including three shedding cases. In addition, among the 120 patients who were treated with PC, 116 were successful, and four were failures, including two shedding cases. Postoperative follow up for patients with successful closure operations demonstrated that the complications of aortic and tricuspid regurgitation, hydro-pericardium, III° atrioventricular block, shedding of closure umbrella, hemolysis, and thrombosis had not occurred.

Closure operation of VSD and ASD by esophageal ultrasound has the advantages of lower trauma and blood loss, shorter hospital stay, simple operation, fewer postoperative complications, and significant therapeutic efficacy.