|
If you are seeing this message, you may be experiencing temporary network problems. Please wait a few minutes and refresh the page. If the problem persists, you may wish to report it to your local Network Manager.
It is also possible that your web browser is not configured or not able to display style sheets. In this case, although the visual presentation will be degraded, the site should continue to be functional. We recommend using the latest version of Microsoft or Mozilla web browser to help minimise these problems.
Wiley InterScience | ||||||||||
  Journal of Cardiovascular ElectrophysiologyVolume 16 Issue 2, Pages 146 - 150 Published Online: 17 Jan 2005 Journal compilation © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Abstract | References | Full Text: HTML, PDF (Size: 351K) | Related Articles | Citation Tracking  Topographic Variability of the Esophageal Left Atrial Relation Influencing Ablation Lines in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Drs Kottkamp and Hindricks have received funding from BiosenseWebster, Inc., which supported this study in part by an unrestricted educational grant. Dr Tanner was supported by a grant from the Swiss National Research Foundation. Manuscript received 24 August 2004; Revised manuscript received 10 October 2004; Accepted for publication 28 October 2004. Copyright 2005 by Futura Publishing Company, Inc. KEYWORDS
catheter ablation
•
atrial fibrillation
•
esophagus
•
mapping
•
anatomy
Topography of the Esophagus in Atrial Fibrillation Ablation. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 16, pp. 1-5, April 2005) ABSTRACTIntroduction: The close anatomic relationship of the posterior wall of the left atrium (LA) and the thermosensitive esophagus creates a potential hazard in catheter ablation procedures. Methods and Results: In 30 patients (pts) with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing catheter ablation, we prospectively studied the course and contact of the esophagus in relation to LA and the topographic proximity to ablation lines encircling the right-sided and left-sided pulmonary veins (PV) as well as to the posterior line connecting the encircling lines using the electromagnetic mapping system for reconstruction of LA and for tagging of the esophagus. This new technique of anatomic tagging of the esophagus was validated against the CT scan as a standard imaging procedure. The esophageal course was highly variable, extending from courses in direct vicinity to the left- or right-sided PV as well as in the midportion of the posterior LA. In order to avoid energy application in direct proximity to the esophagus, adjustments of the left and right PV encircling lines were necessary in 14/30 pts (47%) and 3/30 (10%). In 30 pts (100%), the mid- to inferior areas of the posterior LA revealed contact with the esophagus. Therefore, posterior and inferior linear ablation lines were abandoned and shifted to superior in 29 pts (97%). Conclusions: Anatomic tagging of esophagus revealed a highly variable proximity to different areas of the posterior LA suggesting individual adjustment of encircling and linear ablation lines in AF ablation procedures to avoid the life threatening complication of esophagus perforation. Received: 24 August 2004; First Revision: 10 October 2004; Accepted: 28 October 2004; | 
|
