Percutaneous coarctation dilatation under transthoracic echocardiography guidance solely without fluoroscopy in neonate intensive care.

INTRODUCTION: Neonatal coarctation has to be diagnosed and treated urgently. Actually, the surgical treatment is the main option. The coarctation dilatation is usually achieved under fluoroscopy guidance whenever indicated. Balloon angioplasty could be an alternative approach or transient measure in difficult cases with cardiogenic shock or severe cardiac insufficiency.In the reported case, we prove and discuss the major role of transthoracic echocardiography, which is used solely to guide the coarctation dilatation in neonate environment.

OBJECTIVE: The reported case aims to assess the safety and the efficiency of two-dimensional TEE to guide the dilatation of aortic coarctation in neonate.

CASE PRESENTATION: We describe successful dilatation of neonatal coarctation done exclusively using echocardiography in neonatal ICU at the bed. The procedure duration was 40 minutes (from the puncture to sheath removal). The coarctation was diagnosed easily and well described using TTE with good image quality obtained from supra-sternal plane and upper and left lateral view. TayShak balloon measuring 6 and 8 mm were used with a 0.018 French guided exchange wire.Complete relief of the coarctation was checked by TTE without recording any complication. The follow-up in the third month (the submission time of this manuscript) showed very good results without requiring any surgical intervention or additional restenosis.

CONCLUSION: Our initial experience confirmed the safety and efficiency of coarctation dilatation using TTE as the only guidance tool at the bed in neonatal stage, especially in a case presenting severe metabolic and cardiac failure. This report suggests and encourages other potential applications in neonatology intensive care.