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Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 26, 2013
Cardiac CT Angiography (CCTA) predicts left atrial appendage occluder device size and procedure outcome
Orly Goitein1,2, Noam Fink3,4, Ilan Hay3,4
1Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, 52621, Ramat Gan, Israel. Orly.Goitein@sheba.health.gov.il.
Aim:
To investigate the role of cardiac CT angiography (CCTA) in predicting optimal left atrial appendage (LAA) occluder size and procedure outcome.
Methods And Results:
Thirty-six patients underwent pre-procedural CCTA. CCTA and TEE LAA orifice diameters and perimeters were compared with the implanted device size. CCTA 3D configuration was correlated with procedure outcome. Watchman™ device (N = 18): diameters were 21 ± 4, 26 ± 5 and 25 ± 3 mm for TEE, CCTA and inserted device, respectively. Average perimeters were 61 ± 10, 74 ± 8 and 78 ± 11 mm for TEE, CCTA and inserted device, respectively. Better agreement with the device size was found for CCTA compared to TEE (Bland-Altman). ACP™ device (N = 15): diameters were 20 ± 5, 25 ± 4 and 23 ± 4 for TEE, CCTA and inserted device, respectively. Average perimeters were 58 ± 11, 72 ± 15 and 72 ± 13 mm for TEE, CCTA and inserted device, respectively. Excellent correlation and agreement with the device size was found for CCTA compared to TEE. CCTA perimeter >100 mm and "cactus" 3D configuration had a specificity of 96 and 81% respectively for procedure failure.
Conclusions:
CCTA LAA ostial perimeter predicted better the optimal occluder size as compared with the currently used LAA TEE diameter. Moreover, CCTA 3D data may help in predicting potential complications.
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