[M-mode echocardiography in the non-invasive postoperative follow-up of interatrial communication]

Echocardiographic changes following surgical closure of atrial septal defect in 20 children are analyzed in order to get data for future noninvasive follow-up. After surgery, right ventricular diastolic dimension and index (p less than 0.001), tricuspid valve depth (p less than 0.01), septal depth (p less than 0.001), and right ventricular outflow tract (p less than 0.005) decreases the DE slope (p less than 0.025) and amplitude (p less than 0.05) of the mitral valve, and the left ventricular diastolic dimension and volume (p less than 0.001) increases. There was no case with type A paradogical septal motion after surgery; of the 6 cases with type B before surgery there was no changes in 3, al of them older than 8 years. The right ventricular diastolic volume overload produced by ostium secundum atrial septal defect, produce some echocardiographic changes which have a tendency to settle down after surgery. The finding of a dilated right ventricle with of without a type B paradogical septal motion, specially in children older than 8 years, is not necessarily indicative of a residual shunt.