ASD Device Closure in Ahmedabad

An atrial septal defect – a hole between the two upper chambers of the heart – is one of the most common congenital heart conditions diagnosed in both children and adults across Gujarat. For decades, the only way to close it was open-heart surgery: a sternotomy, a heart-lung bypass machine, a scar down the chest.

That’s no longer true for most patients.

ASD device closure in Ahmedabad at EPIC Multispecialty Hospital now offers the majority of ASD patients a catheter-based solution – a small closure device delivered through a vein, guided by echocardiography, deployed across the defect without a single surgical incision. Most patients go home the following day.

Who Needs ASD Closure – and When Is the Right Time?

Haemodynamically significant ASDs: Not all ASDs need closure. Small defects with minimal shunting often cause no symptoms and require only periodic monitoring. Closure is recommended when the defect causes a significant left-to-right shunt – overloading the right side of the heart – evidenced by right heart enlargement on echocardiography.

Symptomatic patients: Breathlessness, exercise intolerance, recurrent chest infections, or paradoxical embolism (stroke from a clot crossing the defect) are clinical indications for ASD closure regardless of size.

Children vs. adults: In children, small ASDs are watched because many close spontaneously. By age 3 to 5, ASDs that haven’t closed and are haemodynamically significant are referred for closure. In adults, previously undetected ASDs are not uncommon – they can present in the 30s or 40s with atrial fibrillation or unexplained breathlessness.

Secundum ASDs are the most suitable for device closure: The most common type of ASD – the secundum defect, located in the centre of the atrial septum – is ideal for device closure. Other types – primum ASDs, sinus venosus defects – are not anatomically suitable for catheter-based devices and require surgical correction.

What Happens During ASD Device Closure at EPIC Hospital, Ahmedabad

The procedure is performed in our cardiac catheterisation laboratory under general anaesthesia in children or conscious sedation in most adults. Transoesophageal echocardiography – a probe placed in the oesophagus to give detailed images of the heart – guides the entire procedure in real time.

A long sheath is introduced through a vein in the groin and advanced across the defect into the left atrium. The closure device – a double-disc structure made from a nitinol wire mesh – is delivered through the sheath. The left disc is deployed first, then the sheath is pulled back to sit the device across the defect, and the right disc is deployed on the right atrial side. The device is released once position is confirmed as satisfactory on echocardiography.

The whole procedure typically takes 30 to 60 minutes. Patients are monitored overnight and discharged the following morning. A repeat echocardiogram is performed at 1 month and 6 months to confirm complete closure and device position.

The closure device is permanent and becomes incorporated into the heart tissue over 3 to 6 months. Once fully endothelialised, antiplatelet medication – typically aspirin for 6 months – is discontinued, and no further device-related treatment is required.

ASD Device Closure – What Patients and Parents Ask

Is ASD device closure safe for young children at EPIC Hospital?

Yes – for children who meet the anatomical and size criteria for device closure. The procedure is routinely performed in children from around 15 to 20 kg body weight, as this allows adequate vein size and catheter manipulation. Smaller children who need closure may require surgical repair. Our paediatric cardiologist will assess your child’s specific anatomy and recommend the most appropriate approach.

Is the ASD closure device safe long-term?

Devices used for ASD closure – the Amplatzer septal occluder and similar nitinol mesh devices – have an excellent long-term safety profile with decades of follow-up data. They become covered with your own heart tissue over months and are effectively invisible on echocardiography after a year.

Can adults have ASD device closure in Ahmedabad?

Yes – adults are frequently treated for previously undetected ASDs. The procedure is the same. Outcomes are excellent as long as the ASD has not been present so long that irreversible pulmonary hypertension has developed – which is why earlier assessment is better.

Will my child need to take medication after ASD device closure?

Aspirin for 6 months post-procedure is standard – it prevents clot formation on the device surface while endothelialisation occurs. After that, no ongoing cardiac medication is typically required for an otherwise structurally normal heart.