Abstract:

BACRGROUND: Currently, occluders, instead of traditional surgeries, are used for treatment of atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus due to congenital heart disease. As a result, color Doppler ultrasound is widely used in the follow-up of occlusion therapy.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of color Doppler ultrasound in the follow-up of occluder-treated congenital heart disease.
METHODS: The first author performed an electronic retrieve of Wanfang database for articles related to the follow-up of occluder-treated congenital heart disease published from January 1999 to December 2009. The keyword were “color ultrasound, congenital heart disease, atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, occluder”. Repetitive articles, reviews and Meta analysis were excluded, and finally 24 articles were included in the result analysis.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The appropriate occluder was chosen according to defect size and distance between the defect and the right coronary aortic valve measured based on echocardiography and left ventricular angiography. Selection of cases with appropriate indications by using color Doppler ultrasound was the key to successful occlusion. The Amplatzer occluder made of superelastic nickel-titanium memory alloy had a good biocompatibility and safety. During the follow-up of 3-5 years, patients receiving the implantation of the Amplatzer occluder showed no adverse effects, and the occluder position was fixed and did not shift. During the treatment of congenital heart disease with occluders, color Doppler ultrasound plays an important role in preoperative examination, intraoperative monitoring and postoperative follow-up.