Surgical Closure of Defects of the Interauricular Septum by Use of an Atrial Well

Abstract

DEFECTS of the interauricular septum in the human being carry a variable prognosis. Small openings are known to be tolerated rather well through a long span of life. Large defects give left-to-right shunts that enormously increase the flow of blood through the right side of the heart and the pulmonary circuit, thereby leading to right-sided heart failure in early or middle ages. The gravity of the problem makes it quite worth while to develop methods whereby defects of moderate or large size can be closed surgically. This communication summarizes certain of our investigations, which were made in the effort to . . .