Catheter closure of atrial septal defects.

Following the pioneering work of King, Rashkind and their associates in the mid 1970s, a number of devices have been designed and tested in animal models and human subjects. Some devices have been discontinued and others were modified followed by further clinical trials. At the time of this writing, only one device, ASO, was approved by the FDA for general clinical use to occlude atrial defects. There are a number of other devices which are in clinical trials, including the CardioSeal/StarFlex, COD buttoned, Helex and transcatheter patch devices. The preceding paper reports on the utility of ASO in occluding atrial defects in adult patients: the results appear good with extremely rare major complication and little need re-intervention during follow-up. It is envisioned that several other devices will be approved by the regulatory authorities in the foreseeable future so that an appropriate device for a given type of atrial septal defect may be selected by the practicing interventional cardiologist.