Abstract
There have been a few reports that intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP) was successfully weaned in children with left heart failure. This is a case report that IABP was successfully weaned in a 17-month-old girl with atrial septal defect and severe left heart failure after closure of atrial septal defect, and the patient was discharged the Hospital without any other complication. The balloon of 6ml was inserted into the ascending aorta and IABP was effective to wean from cardiopulmonary hypass. Diastolic augmentation was clearly evident on the arterial pressure curve. IABP was taken out on the 4th postoperative day, and the hemodynamics were well maintained with dopamine and isoproterenl infusion. The chest wall was closed on the 6th postoperative day. Two-dimensional echocardiography showed improvement of the left ventricular contraction before dismissal. There was no any other complication, and the chest X-ray showed that cardio-thoracic ratio was 46 percent at 2 months after surgery.
