A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a hole in the wall between the ventricles, the two lower chambers of the heart. The board-certified and fellowship-trained cardiothoracic surgeons at Norton Children’s Heart Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine, typically perform a VSD repair with surgery if it does not close on its own, is too large, related symptoms are hard to control with medicines, or the child isn’t growing.

Interventional cardiologists may be able to repair less complex VSDs by using a catheter to implant an FDA-approved device to close the hole.

The interventional cardiologists at Norton Children’s Heart Institute will thread the catheter — a thin tube — through a large blood vessel until the catheter reaches the heart. The interventional cardiologist will place the closure device in the precise location to repair the VSD.

VSD Repair With Open Heart Surgery

Surgeons typically repair large VSDs with open heart surgery in infancy or childhood. Even if the child currently has few symptoms, physicians may recommend surgery to prevent complications later when VSDs are large.

Surgeons often will use a patch to cover the hole. The patch may be a piece of lining from around the outside of the heart, called pericardium, or made of a special synthetic material. As the child grows, heart tissue will grow over the patch and it becomes a permanent part of the heart.

Norton Children’s Heart Institute is the leading provider of pediatric heart care in Louisville and Southern Indiana.  We have the pediatric cardiologists, interventional pediatric cardiologists and pediatric cardiothoracic surgeons available to decide which treatment option will be best to address the child’s VSD.

Norton Children’s has a network of outreach diagnostic and treatment services conveniently located throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana.

VSD Repair Complications and After Care

In 99%of cases, patients have few or no complications after surgery to repair a VSD. After VSD repair, most children can live their life with no restrictions. The child will still need regular checkups with a pediatric cardiologist as he or she grows.

Why Choose Norton Children’s Heart Institute

• Norton Children’s Hospital has been a pioneer in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, performing Kentucky’s first pediatric heart transplant in 1986 and becoming the second site in the United States to perform an infant heart transplant.
• The American Board of Thoracic Surgery has certified our cardiothoracic surgeons in congenital heart surgery.
• The Adult Congenital Heart Association has accredited Norton Children’s Heart Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program as the only comprehensive care center in Kentucky and Indiana treating adults born with a heart defect.
• More than 17,000 children a year visit Norton Children’s Heart Institute for advanced heart care.
• Norton Children’s Heart Institute has offices across Kentucky and Southern Indiana to bring quality pediatric heart care closer to home.
• The Jennifer Lawrence Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at Norton Children’s Hospital is the largest dedicated CICU in Kentucky, equipped with 17 private rooms and the newest technology available for heart care.