Conclusions
TEE is a useful tool to investigate patients undergoing ablation therapy of atrial fibrillation. The technique provides important information about the presence of thrombus and SEC in the left atrium and LAa, and about minor IAS abnormalities, which seem to occur more frequently than in the normal population. Such information is necessary for planning the approach to the PV by catheters that must cross the septum and the atrial cavity.
After ablation, TEE can be used to monitor possible minor complications, such as a residual IAS shunt or pericardial effusion. It also allows the detection of PV stenosis, a rare but dreaded complication of PVAI. A control TEE examination 3 months after the ablation procedure is probably adequate for this purpose.
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De Piccoli, B., Rossillo, A. (2006). Value of Transoesophageal Echocardiography for the Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation. In: Raviele, A. (eds) Cardiac Arrhythmias 2005. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/88-470-0371-7_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/88-470-0371-7_26
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