The Role of Echocardiography in the Percutaneous Treatment of Septal Defects

In the last few years, percutaneous treatment of atrial and ventricular septal defects has developed signifi cantly, having been established as a feasible, safe and effective therapeutic modality. Echocardiography has a primary role in this scenario, identifying suitable candidates for the procedure, monitoring the device implantation and evaluating the rate of occlusion during follow-up. The available devices for percutaneous occlusion of septal defects have been progressively modifi ed and improved. Similarly, a great technological advancement has also occurred in the echocardiography area, such as the advent of high-resolution transesophageal multiplan probes, on and off-line three-dimensional (3-D echo) and intracardiac echocardiography. In some centers, the latter has become the proce-dure of choice for monitoring percutaneous occlusion of atrial septal defect in adult patients, as it does not require general anesthesia, thus making the procedure even simpler. In this review article, we will discuss the role of echocardiography to evaluate patients before, during and after interventional procedures for occlusion of septal defects, including the