Transesophageal Echocardiography as the Sole Guidance for Occlusion of Patent Ductus Arteriosus using a Canine Ductal Occluder in Dogs

BACKGROUND: Transcatheter occlusion of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is usually performed by fluoroscopy alone or together with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) guidance has been used for deployment of Amplatz Canine Ductal Occluder (ACDO), but sometimes is limited by suboptimal acoustic windows. Transesophageal echocardiography can overcome such issues and provides higher image resolution at the level of the great vessels. OBJECTIVES: To determine if TEE without fluoroscopy could be used to successfully perform ductal occlusion for the treatment of PDA in dogs. ANIMALS: Twenty client‐owned dogs with PDA. METHODS: A prospective consecutive case series of PDA occlusion was performed using only TEE guidance. Dogs were positioned in right lateral recumbency and the TEE probe was positioned to visualize the descending aorta, PDA, and pulmonary artery. The guide wire, long introducer sheath, and ACDO were imaged by TEE to direct deployment. RESULTS: Ductal occlusion was performed successfully without need for fluoroscopy and without complications in 19 dogs. One dog required a second larger ACDO because of embolization of the first device 18 hours after positioning. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: We have demonstrated that TEE monitoring without concurrent fluoroscopy can guide each step of transcatheter ACDO embolization thereby providing an alternate method of visualization for this procedure. Use of TEE alone can reduce radiation exposure or is an option when fluoroscopy is not available, and, therefore, should be evaluated in a larger case series to better assess procedural failure rates.