ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness and safety of esophageal ultrasound-guided percutaneous femoral artery closure of ventricular septal defect (VSD).MethodsThe clinical data of 24 patients with congenital VSD in our hospital from March 2017 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 6 males and 18 females, with a median age of 12 (3-42) years, weight of 32 (12-91) kg, and VSD diameter of 4 (3-7) mm. There were 3 patients with VSD combined with atrial septal defect.ResultsTwenty-four patients successfully underwent interventional closure of percutaneous femoral artery under esophageal ultrasound guidance, and the position and shape of the occluders were good. The operation time was 45 (39-54) min, and the waist size of the occluders was 7 (5-12) mm. Among the patients, 14 patients used symmetric ventricular occlusion devices, 8 patients used asymmetric ventricular occlusion devices, and 2 patients used ventricular occlusion muscle occluders. Small amount of residual shunt occurred in 2 patients after the operation and it disappeared 3 months after the operation. One patient with right bundle branch block, which disappeared after 1 week of observation. There were no complications such as occluder closure, pericardial effusion or valve regurgitation during the perioperative period. During the follow-up period [3-18 (9.25±5.04) months], no serious complication occurred.ConclusionTransesophageal ultrasound-guided transfemoral artery occlusion for VSD is simple and safe, and it avoids the damage of radiation and contrast medium. It has advantages over traditional percutaneous interventional occlusion therapy.
Objective To analyze the efficacy and safety of closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) guided by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), and summarize the experience of some difficult cases. MethodsThe patients who underwent the percutaneous PFO occlusion in our hospital from January 2020 to May 2023 were retrospectively enrolled. Dynamic monitoring data of TEE before, during, and after the operation were recorded. Results A total of 68 patients including 30 males and 38 females at an average age of (45.6±16.3) years were included. There were 7 patients with complex PFO. Under TEE guidance, 65 patients successfully completed the occlusion treatment, with an average operation time of (55.6±26.2) min and hospital stay time of (4.2±1.1) d, and 3 patients failed to close. During the operation, the two-dimensional TEE images of the patients were clear, which fully and clearly showed the process of the sheath canal passing through the foramen ovale and the continuous observation of the occlusive umbrella after releasing the occlusive umbrella. The position of the umbrella was secure and the shape of the umbrella was satisfactory. No blood shunt or pericardial effusion was found at 6-month and 1-year follow-up. The heart structure and heart rhythm were improved, the atrioventricular valve function was normal, the blocking umbrella was firm and stable, and there was no shedding or displacement. ConclusionThe percutaneous PFO occlusion guided by TEE is safe and effective, and has fewer side effects on patients compared with traditional interventional methods, but the complex PFO occlusion surgery is still challenging.
ObjectiveTo share the experience of treating special cardiac malformations by applying minimally invasive techniques.MethodsEight children with special cardiac malformations admitted to our hospital from July 2014 to September 2020 were recruited, including 3 males and 5 females, aged 0.8-1.2 (1.1±0.4) years, and weighted 7.8-11.5 (9.6±2.9) kg. There were 2 patients of huge muscular ventricular septal defect (VSD), 3 perimembranous cribriform VSD, 1 right coronary-right atrial fistula, 1 right coronary-right ventricular fistula, and 1 young, low-weight child with large aortopulmonary. All were treated with minimally invasive techniques using transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) as a guiding tool. All children received intraoperative TEE immediately to evaluate the curative effect of the surgery, and all went to outpatient clinic for reexamination of echocardiography, electrocardiogram and chest X-ray after discharge.ResultsEight children underwent minimally invasive surgery successfully without any incision infection, intracardiac infection, arrhythmia or pericardial effusion. None of the 8 children were lost to follow-up, and the results of all reexaminations were satisfactory.ConclusionThe application of minimally invasive techniques is a bold and innovative attempt for the treatment of a few special types of cardiac malformations. It has significant advantages in reducing trauma and medical costs in some suitable patients, and has certain clinical reference values.
Aortic stenosis accounts for a large proportion of valvular heart disease in China. This article described an unusual case of severe aortic stenosis with severe cardiopulmonary decompensation treated by emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Preoperative assessment was performed by transesophageal echocardiography. The extracorporeal membrane oxygenation team was informed to be ready. During the operation, no obvious perivalve leakage was observed after valve released. The transvalvular pressure gradient decreased to 7 mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa).The patient’s symptoms were completely relieved after the operation, and no adverse events occurred during the hospitalization. After discharge, color Doppler echocardiography showed that stenosis was eliminated, cardiac function was improved, no significant perivalvular leakage was observed, and pulmonary hypertension reduced to moderate. The success of this operation confirmed the efficacy of emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and showed that after a rigorous evaluation, emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement may be a reasonable choice for patients with severe aortic valve stenosis.
Echocardiography is an important imaging technique in mithal valve transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER). During the operation, mitral leaflets capture and clamping have the highest requirements for ultrasound image quality and should be performed under the guidance of high-quality commissural view. However, standard commissural view cannot be obtained in some patients due to cardiac enlargement, transposition or limited esophageal acoustic window. In this condition, the optimal view can be obtained by Multivue technology. This paper reports a male patient aged 67 years with successful mitral valve TEER under the real-time guidance of Multivue technology, and summarizes the key points of this technology.
In recent years, transesophageal echocardiography has a trend toward miniaturization, so it has great clinical significance and broad clinical application prospect in the management of Cardiac Surgery ICU patient. This paper presents the characteristics of miniaturized transesophageal echocardiography and its clinical application. And we also focused on the contrast between miniaturized transesophageal echocardiography and standard transesophageal echocardiography and transthoracic echocardiography.
ObjectiveTo investigate clinical outcomes and safety of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)-guided occlusion of infundibular ventricular septal defect (VSD) via minithoracotomy. MethodsClinical data of 21 pediatric patients with infundibular VSD who underwent TEE-guided occlusion via minithoracotomy in Children's Hospital of Hebei Province from January to June 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 10 male and 11 female patients with their age of 8-24 (16±8) months and body weight of 9±3 kg. The size of VSD was 4.5±2.5 mm. TEE was used to evaluate the position of the occluder, its influence on the atrioventricular valves and aortic valve, and the presence of residual shunt. ResultsThere was no perioperative death or complication. VSD occlusion was successfully performed in 20 out of 21 patients (95.2%). One patient received conversion to open VSD repair under extracorporeal circulation because VSD size was too big. Mean time of delivery of occluders was 32±16 minutes, the size of the occluders was 5±3 mm, and length of hospital stay was 6-8 days. All the patients were followed up for 3-6 months after discharge. During follow-up, echocardiography showed clear echo and normal position of the occluders, and there was no mild or more severe residual shunt or valvular regurgitation. ConclusionTEE-guided occlusion of infundibular VSD via minithoracotomy is easy to perform and safe with satisfactory clinical outcomes.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the feasibility and safety of blocking congenital ventricular septal defect or congenital atrial septal defect through the small vertical incision of right subaxillary. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 38 patients underwent the surgery of blocking congenital ventricular septal defect or congenital atrial septal defect in our hospital from January to August 2015. There were 22 males and 16 females with a mean age of 10.3±5.2 months, weight of 8.2±3.5 kg. ResultsThere were 34 patients (89.5%) successfully blocked through the small vertical cut of right subaxillary. The average blood loss of those 34 patients was 19.5±13.4 ml and the mean time of surgery was 58.4±28.5 minutes. Four patients (10.5%) with ventricular septal defect failed to block because of aortic valve prolapse. Those patients underwent direct repair of ventricular septal defect under extracorporeal circulation while general anesthesia. There was no serious adverse event during the surgery. The extubation time was 3.9±1.6 hours, the ICU monitoring time was 1.8±0.8 days and the hospital stay time was 3.2±0.5 days. All patients discharged uneventfully. ConclusionBlocking congenital ventricular septal defect or congenital atrial septal defect through the cut of right subaxillary is a feasible, effective, safe, and minimally invasive method. The effect of early follow-up is well.
With the development of surgical technology and the need of clinical, transesophageal echocardiography is more and more favored by clinicians. Although the transesophageal echocardiography has developed more than 20 years, yet it has not been widely used in operation at present in domestic. In addition, its application in surgery of children is more rare. It has been confirmed that intraoperative use of transesophageal echocardiography has good safety and wide range of application. We will summarize indications, complications, and the progress of the current technology from the scope of transesophageal echocardiography in pediatric surgery.