Fully biodegradable closure successful in treating congenital heart problem

Shanghai Yida Hospital announced the city's first successful surgery for a common congenital heart problem using a fully biodegradable closure, with the whole process guided through a transesophageal echocardiography, which uses no radiation and does not require the injection of a contrast agent.

A 39-year-old patient from Xinjiang with patent foramen ovale, a remnant of the fetal circulatory system and present in about one-quarter of the general population, received the treatment. He had suffered serious migraine headaches due to the defect.

"Most people don't suffer symptoms, however those with complications like unknown-cause migraine headaches, nausea, fatigue, or stroke should receive treatment,"said Dr Li Baojun from Shanghai Yida Hospital's heart center. "The traditional therapy is surgery, through which a metal closure is introduced to close the hole. This runs the risk of complications."

Yida, which is among the first batch of hospitals to be approved to use the world's first fully biodegradable occlude, decided to use the new technology for the patient.

Such devices are made of specific medical polymer materials, which gradually degrade and are safely absorbed by the human body after guiding the patient's own tissue to grow to cover the original hole in about a year.

Ti Gong