ABSTRACT
Introduction Since Rashkind1 introduced the balloon atrioseptostomy in the early 1960s, the number of different transcatheter interventions in newborns and small infants has increased dramatically. Today a broad variety of interventional procedures can be performed in very small patients on a routine basis. These interventional procedures include pre-operative palliations such as the ‘Rashkind’ maneuver, interventions as an alternative to surgical procedures like balloon dilations of pulmonary valve stenosis, and a wide spectrum of postoperative interventions to optimize surgical results.
