Catheter Closure of Secundum ASD Using “Other” Devices

The first nonoperative ASD closure was performed by Noel L. Mills and Terry D. King in a 17-year old female patient on April 8, 1975. In the following years there was little interest in this clinical field after trials with the "Clamshell Device" had been discontinued because of arm fractures. From the late 1980s until the mid 1990s E. B. Sideris ("Buttoned Device") and U.U. Babic ("ASDOS") kept the ideas of King & Mills alive while G.S. Das developed the first self-centering device ("AngelWings"). Clinical trials with ASDOS and AngelWings have been stopped because of complicated technology and risk of perforation. The Buttoned Device and its modifications are still used with high success rates even in defects > 20 mm and low long-term risk of perforation. Since the pioneering works of King & Mills marked improvements in devices and delivery systems have been achieved. After almost three decades of ongoing research and development, transcatheter ASD closure has become a clinical routine procedure.