SCIENTIFIC LETTER Amplatzer device closure of atrial septal defects in mature adults: analysis of 76 cases

stium secundum atrial septal defects (ASDs) have been successfully closed surgically for over 30 years. The concept of percutaneous closure of such defects was proposed in the 1970s. In 1997, the self expanding Amplatzer nitinol prosthesis was first used in animals, with good results. Human studies soon followed and percutaneous closure of atrial septal defects is now standard treatment in the paediatric population. In exclusively adult populations there remains a relative lack of published data and only one series of any size.1 METHODS Adult patients with symptomatic atrial septal defects under-went transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography to assess defect location, size, and number, associated anomalies, and a more detailed assessment of the septa