Heart Hole Surgery in Ahmedabad — ASD, VSD & PDA Closure Without Open-Heart Surgery
Being told your child — or you — has a hole in the heart is one of the most frightening things a family can hear. The first questions are almost always the same: Does it need surgery? Will it require opening the chest? Is it dangerous?
The reassuring answer for many patients today is that most heart holes can be closed without open-heart surgery — using a minimally invasive catheter-based procedure that requires no chest incision, no heart-lung machine, and typically allows discharge within 1 to 2 days.
Dr. Kulin Sheth performs catheter-based heart hole closure at Apollo CVHF Heart Institute, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad — for ASD, VSD, and PDA in both children and adults.
What Is a Heart Hole?
A ‘heart hole’ is a common term for a congenital heart defect — a structural abnormality in the heart that is present from birth. These defects involve openings or communications between chambers or blood vessels that should normally be separate, causing abnormal blood flow within the heart.
The three most common types that can be closed with a catheter procedure are:
ASD — Atrial Septal Defect (Hole Between the Upper Chambers)
An ASD is a hole in the wall (septum) between the two upper chambers of the heart — the right and left atria. This allows blood to flow from one side to the other, forcing the right side of the heart to handle extra blood volume. Over time, this causes the right heart to enlarge and, if untreated, can lead to pulmonary hypertension — elevated pressure in the lung arteries — and heart failure.
ASD is one of the most common congenital heart defects and is frequently detected in adulthood, sometimes incidentally on an echocardiogram performed for another reason.
VSD — Ventricular Septal Defect (Hole Between the Lower Chambers)
PDA — Patent Ductus Arteriosus
How Is Heart Hole Closure Performed Without Surgery?
Catheter-based heart hole closure is performed under general anaesthesia or conscious sedation, guided by real-time X-ray and echocardiographic imaging. A thin catheter is inserted through a vein in the groin — no incision in the chest is required.
A specially designed occluder device — a self-expanding, double-disc implant made from nitinol (a biocompatible metal alloy) — is compressed into the catheter and guided to the site of the defect. Once positioned precisely across the hole under echo and X-ray guidance, the device is released. It expands on both sides of the defect, effectively sealing it like a plug.
Over the following weeks and months, the heart’s own tissue grows over the device, fully incorporating it into the wall of the heart and permanently closing the defect.
Advantages of Catheter-Based Closure Over Open-Heart Surgery
| Feature | Catheter-Based Closure |
|---|---|
|
Chest incision |
None — only a small puncture in the groin |
|
Heart-lung machine |
Not required |
|
Anaesthesia |
General anaesthesia or sedation |
|
Hospital stay |
Typically 1 to 2 days |
|
Recovery time |
1 to 2 weeks in most cases |
|
Scar |
Minimal — small puncture site only |
|
Effectiveness |
Comparable to open surgery for suitable defects |
Who Is a Candidate for Catheter-Based Closure?
- Children and adults with a haemodynamically significant ASD, VSD, or PDA causing symptoms or evidence of right heart enlargement or volume overload
- Patients with a defect that has been observed and is now considered large enough to require closure
- Adults diagnosed with a congenital defect that was not closed in childhood
- Patients with unexplained breathlessness, reduced exercise tolerance, or palpitations found to have a significant shunt defect
- Patients with a cryptogenic stroke where a paradoxical embolism through a cardiac defect is suspected
Location — Where Is Heart Hole Closure Performed?
Apollo CVHF Heart Institute
- +91 7096 800 800
- Pakwan Cross Road, Sarkhej - Gandhinagar Hwy, opp. GNFC Tower, next to l.O.C petrol pump, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380059
- Angiography, Angioplasty, Pacemakers & Devices (ICD, CRT-D), Structural Heart Procedures (ASD/VSD/PDA Closure, TAVI), Complex Coronary Work (LMCA, Bifurcations, IVL, Rotablation)
- Open 24 hours
Dr. Kulin Sheth's Approach
Dr. Sheth is known for a calm, thorough, and patient-centred consultation style. He takes time to listen, never rushes through an appointment, and explains findings clearly so that patients leave with a genuine understanding of their heart health and what needs to be done — if anything.
Patients also appreciate that Dr. Sheth only recommends investigations that are genuinely needed. There are no unnecessary tests, no unnecessary procedures, and no unnecessary alarm.