Interventional cardiac catheterization in very small infants

Advances in catheter technology and techniques have made it possible to perform safe catheter-based therapies in infants, and transcatheter intervention has become the treatment of choice for some congenital heart anomalies in this patient population. Therapeutic cardiac catheterization procedures have been reported, as cases and small series, in very small infants. Studies to determine the indications and risks of catheter-based therapies in this patient group are not available. Although the procedural risk may be relatively high in very small infants, in many cases the risk of transcatheter therapy may be less than the risk of surgical treatment. In other cases, palliation with transcatheter therapy may provide an opportunity for survival and growth until surgery can be more safely performed. This review explores the current status of interventional cardiac catheterization in very small infants with congenital heart disease.