Innovative Use of Interventional Hardware in Surgical Embolectomy in Small Infants.

Surgical embolectomy for thrombosis and ischemia following femoral arterial cannulation in small infants is rare. The nonavailability of embolectomy balloons in small sizes and the small size of the native vessels pose a challenge in repair. We describe the use of a coronary angioplasty balloon for the purpose of embolectomy in a 2.

The curious case of a button which led to the needle.

Foreign bodies in the heart are uncommon in children. These are often removed even if asymptomatic to prevent complications like erosion, embolization, bleeding, thrombosis, and endocarditis. We report the case of a one-and-a-half-year-old child with a hypodermic needle in the heart which was found incidentally and removed successfully by surgery.

Mycotic aneurysm complicating a covered stent implanted for coarctation of the aorta in a child.

A mycotic aneurysm associated with a covered stent in the thoracic aorta of a 12-year-old child was successfully managed by excision and replacement with aortic homograft. On follow-up, there was unobstructed flow through the homograft. This case highlights the need for high index of suspicion for mycotic aneurysm and prompt surgical intervention in children with coarctation of aorta who present with features of infective endocarditis.

Transcatheter interruption of large residual flow after device closure of "Type A" patent ductus arteriosus.

We report a case of 3-year-old girl who had persistence of large residual flow following transcatheter closure of a 6 mm 'Type A' patent ductus arteriosus using a 12 × 10 mm duct occluder. Angiography revealed a large left-to-right shunt coursing through and exiting around the implanted device. Near total abolition of the residual shunt was achieved by initial implantation of an embolization coil within the duct occluder and subsequently an Amplatzer duct occluder (ADO II) adjacent to the duct occluder.