Assessing the blalock-hanlon atrioseptectomy at cardiac catheterization.

Blalock-Hanlon atrial septectomy (BH) is performed to increase systemic and pulmonary venous mixing at the atrial level. Failure of clinical improvement may be related to inadequate intraatrial communication. A simple catheterization technique employing a balloon catheter is used to assess the presence or absence of the limbus of the foramen ovale following BH, since persistence of the limbus of the fossa ovalis after BH is associated with significantly smaller percentage of communication (atrial communication area/total atrial area).