Intravascular hemolysis following percutaneous occlussion of the ductus arteriosus

Transcatheter occlusion of patent ductus arteriosus has become a safe and s uccessful technique, but it's not free of complications. We present the cas e of a two-year-old boy who underwent routine transcatheter closure of his patent ductus arteriosus, using a "coil" devise. Twenty hours later he deve loped severe persistent hemolysis in association with residual ductal flow. Patient's clinical situation became stable when the devise was removed. Pu lmonary embolization of the devise and hemolysis are the main complications of percutaneous closure of the patients ductus arteriosus. hemolysis occur s rarely (0.5%) and is always associated with the presence of residual duct al flow. Several approaches to this problem have been described. Mild cases may require no intervention; however, when severe hemolysis id present, re moval of the devise may be needed, proceeding with surgical repair of the p atent ductus arteriosus.