Encore PFO Closure Device

The Encore PFO Closure Device is comprised of two discs connected by a flexible center section. The discs are covered with an implantable fabric that helps stop the flow of blood across the defect. Once implanted, new tissue encapsulates the device which remains permanently implanted.

The device is offered in four sizes. The size of each device corresponds to the diameter of its discs. Physicians select the necessary device size for a given defect.

The Encore PFO Closure Device has unique construction resulting in excellent clinical performance. Some benefits of this unique construction include the following:

Multi-element frame construction
Conformability to a given anatomy
High defect closure rates
Low incidence of post implant arrhythmias
Preservation of transcatheter access to the left atrium post implant

What is a PFO?

A Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) is a persistent, slit-like opening between the right and left atrial chambers of the heart. It occurs at the limbus (fossa ovalis) as an opening between the septum primum and septum secundum structures. The PFO opening originally provides a necessary right-to-left shunt of blood in the fetal circulatory system. The opening then functionally closes after birth due to increasing left atrial blood pressures arising from the now-operating pulmonary circulation. The functional closure is usually followed by an anatomic closure, that is, fusion of the septum primum and septum secundum structures. When fusion does not occur, an oblique slit-like opening between the septae (the PFO) persists. Autopsy studies have shown that 10 to 27% of adults have a patent foramen ovale.

In simple terms, a PFO is an unwanted hole between the right and left atria of the heart.