Balloon dilatation of restrictive interatrial communications in congenital heart disease.

An adequate interatrial communication is necessary for survival in several forms of congenital heart disease. Three children are presented in whom blade atrial septostomy proved either technically impossible or failed to achieve adequate interatrial communication. In all three an adequate communication was obtained by a balloon dilatation technique similar to that used for pulmonary valve dilatation. In one critically ill infant with mitral atresia the procedure was life saving.