AUTHOR=He Lu , Xie Hang , Gao Yongsheng , Zhang Gangcheng , Shen Qunshan , Wang Minghua , Wang Qiguang , Wang Yujiu , Du Yajuan , Zhu Xianyang , Zhang Yushun TITLE=Biodegradable Pansy® occluder for patent foramen ovale closure: a multicenter, single-arm, prospective study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2025 YEAR=2025 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2025.1464712 DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2025.1464712 ISSN=2297-055X ABSTRACT=BackgroundThe next-generation closure device for interventional treatment of patent foramen ovale (PFO) is regarded as biodegradable, yet the corresponding biomaterial technique is still challenging. Herein, we report the clinical application of a novel biodegradable PFO occluder [made of the biodegradable material polydioxanone (PDO)] that is finally coming into clinical use.ObjectivesThis study aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of the biodegradable Pansy® occluder (Mallow Medical, Shanghai, China) for PFO closure in patients exhibiting PFO with a substantial right-to-left shunt (RLS).MethodsSix centers in China participated in this prospective, multicenter study of PFO closure from June 2019 to September 2020. Serious adverse events occurring in the perioperative period and during follow-up were systematically collected. Contrast transthoracic echocardiography (cTTE), transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) were performed during the preoperative and follow-up periods.ResultsA total of 137 patients with a mean age of 38.1 ± 12.4 years who underwent catheter-based PFO closure with the biodegradable Pansy® occluder were included. The procedural success rate was 99.3%. Except for 2 cases (1.4%) of micropericardial effusion, there were no other complications such as cardiac tamponade, major bleeding, stroke oroccluder embolization. During the 12-month follow-up, serious adverse events occurred in 3 patients (2.2%), all of which were device-related thrombus (DRT). Four patients (2.9%) still had moderate to substantial residual RLS. The complete occlusion rate was 97.1% at 12 months after closure.ConclusionsPFO closure with the biodegradable Pansy® occluder can be performed effectively with acceptably low complication rates, low occurrence of adverse events, high procedural success rates and high complete occlusion rates at follow-up.Clinical Trial Registrationhttp://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx; identifier (ChiCTR1900024036).