Efficacy of four different left atrial appendage closure techniques during cardiac surgery—A transesophageal echocardiography follow-up studyCentral MessagePerspective

Objective: Closure of the left atrial appendage (LAA) is a routine part of atrial fibrillation ablation surgery and significantly reduces stroke rates. Different LAA-closure techniques are used in cardiac surgery with variable results reported. We therefore evaluated the efficacy of 4 different LAA-...

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Main Authors: Johannes Petersen, MD, Henrike Böning, MD, Sevenai Yildirim, MD, Yousuf Alassar, MD, Yalin Yildirim, MD, Ilia Bazhanov, MD, Christoph Sinning, MD, Hermann Reichenspurner, MD, PhD, Simon Pecha, MD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-08-01
Series:JTCVS Techniques
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666250724002281
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Summary:Objective: Closure of the left atrial appendage (LAA) is a routine part of atrial fibrillation ablation surgery and significantly reduces stroke rates. Different LAA-closure techniques are used in cardiac surgery with variable results reported. We therefore evaluated the efficacy of 4 different LAA-closure techniques in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Methods: In total, 149 patients who underwent concomitant LAA closure during cardiac surgery between 2015 and 2019 were included in this retrospective transesophageal echocardiography study. Four different LAA-closure techniques were evaluated: LAA clipping (n = 62), suture ligation (n = 28), stapler resection (n = 30), and surgical LAA excision (n = 29). Successful LAA closure was defined as absence of LAA perfusion and absence of a stump greater than 10 mm. Results: The mean patients age was 68.7 ± 9.4 years; 61.7% were male. No complications related to LAA closure were observed. Mean follow-up was 36.5 ± 8 months. Transesophageal echocardiography follow-up showed the following LAA closure success rates: LAA clip 98.4%, surgical excision 93.1%, stapler resection 76.6%, and suture ligation 39.2%. Suture ligation resulted in a high rate of recanalization (50%) and residual stumps (10.8%), whereas stapler resection resulted in a high rate of residual stumps (23.4%). Overall, 4 patients (2.7%) had a stroke during follow-up. In detail, 2 of 27 (7.4%) patients with unsuccessful LAA closure had a stroke, whereas 2 of the 122 (1.6%) patients with successful LAA closure had a stroke. Conclusions: In our study, LAA clipping and surgical LAA excision proved to be both successful LAA-closure methods. External LAA ligation and stapler resection resulted in low rates of successful LAA closure and should be avoided.
ISSN:2666-2507