Description
The Amended PDA occluder is a percutaneous, transcatheter closure device for occlusion of atrial septal defect in secundum position or patient who have undergone a fenestrated Fontan procedure, and who now have to close the fenestration. It utilizes the shape memory of Nitinol, a wire made from an alloy of nickel and titanium. Each Occluder is made of a Nitinol wire mesh that is shaped into two flat discs and a middle, or "waist" to fit the defect size, with polyester fabric inserts designed to help close the hole and provide a foundation for growth of tissue over the occluder after placement. The placement procedure typically takes place in a special room called a catheterization laboratory ( cath lab ) where many minimally invasive, non-surgical procedures are performed. The Septal Occluder is delivered to the correct place in the heart through a catheter, a small plastic tube used by an interventional cardiologist to access the heart and place the occluder using x-ray and echocardiography. The physician deploys the occluder to expand each disc on either side of the defect, closing off the hole.