Re: Atrial Septal Defect

Posted By Lisa on October 22, 1998 at 11:13:50:

In Reply to: Atrial Septal Defect posted by Jim Hungerford on October 20, 1998 at 22:13:22:






My two year old daughter has been diagnosed with a 1cm asd via an echo.  Our cardiologist is recommending closure sooner rather than later.
We have an option of using a catheter based technique, or going with open heart.  We are leaning open heart due to the newness of the catheter based.  Any thoughts on 1) waiting to have procedure done and 2) using open heart vs. catheter?
Thank you
I am not a medical expert, but after living with a child with 9 VSD's since
birth, I find the cardioseals ( or clamshells) to be a miracle procedure.
One of My daughters VDS's was over 1" across.  Last year she had
the surgery and had 5 devices put in.  There is a very low risk of device
failure; almost minimal; and this is much less invasive than open heart.
Also, this procedure is not new;  the doctor who pioneered it, Dr. James Lock of
Boston, who repaired my child, has been doing these since 1990.  
The recovery time is brief and although you might not think  it important now,
20 years from now your daughter may not want a zipper scar on her chest.