Transcatheter Interventions for Ventricular Septal Defects
Summary
Transcatheter interventions have transformed the management of ventricular septal defects (VSDs), offering a minimally invasive alternative to open surgical repair. These procedures involve percutaneous delivery of occlusion devices across the septal defect under imaging guidance, most commonly echocardiography and fluoroscopy. Ideal candidates are those with isolated muscular or perimembranous defects of suitable size and rim morphology. Advances in device design, such as low-profile nitinol occluders, have reduced the risks of conduction disturbance and valvular interference. Hybrid approaches combining surgical access with catheter techniques have extended applicability to infants and small children. Procedural success rates now routinely exceed 95 per cent, with low incidence of serious adverse events. Long-term follow-up confirms durable defect closure, preservation of cardiac function and improvement in exercise capacity. Transcatheter closure reduces hospital stay, accelerates recovery and minimises scarring, supporting its role as a first-line option in anatomically suitable VSDs worldwide.
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Transcatheter Interventions for Ventricular Septal Defects publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in transcatheter interventions for ventricular septal defects across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Ventricular septal defect (VSD): A congenital opening in the wall separating the left and right ventricles.
Transcatheter closure: Percutaneous delivery of an occlusion device to seal a cardiac septal defect without open-heart surgery.
Amplatzer occluder: A self-expanding nitinol device designed to close septal defects via a catheter-based approach.
Residual shunt: Persistence of blood flow across the defect after device implantation.
Complete atrioventricular block (cAVB): A conduction disturbance in which electrical signals fail to pass from atria to ventricles, potentially requiring pacemaker implantation.
References
- Transcatheter Closure of Perimembranous Ventricular Septal Defects Using Different Generations of Amplatzer Devices: Multicenter Experience. Journal of Interventional Cardiology (2020).
- Long-Term Outcome of Transcatheter Device Closure of Perimembranous Ventricular Septal Defects. Frontiers in Pediatrics (2018).
- Short- and Long-term Outcome After Interventional VSD Closure: A Single-Center Experience in Pediatric and Adult Patients. Pediatric Cardiology (2020).
- A meta-analysis of perventricular device closure of perimembranous ventricular septal defect. Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery (2019).
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