A life-saving case of cardiopulmonary arrest with cardiac tamponade caused by erosion 6years after percutaneous atrial septal defect closure: a case report

BACKGROUND: Cardiac erosion after percutaneous atrial septal defect (ASD) closure is a rare complication that requires immediate life-saving emergency surgery. In this report, we present our successful life-saving strategy for cardiac arrest due to cardiac tamponade caused by erosion 6years after the percutaneous closure of an ASD. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient was a 50-year-old man who received treatment using an Amplatzer septal occluder (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA) treatment for ostium secundum atrial septal defect (size: 29.527.0mm) at another institution when he was 44years old. CONCLUSIONS: This case report presents a bailout surgical strategy for patients who are hemodynamically unstable with risks of coagulopathy and multiple organ failure. This case shows that cardiac surgeons need to be aware of percutaneous ASD-closure complications and should consider a bailout surgical strategy for patients at risk of multiple organ failure.