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Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Cooling or Warming the Esophagus to Reduce Esophageal Injury During Left Atrial Ablation in the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: March 15, 2020
Severe esophageal injury after radiofrequency ablation - a deadly complication
Nurit Katz-Agranov1, Moises I Nevah Rubin1
1Nurit Katz-Agranov, Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, United States.
Abstract:
Various degrees of esophageal injury have been described after radiofrequency ablation performed for treatment of atrial fibrillation. The main mechanism of injury is thermal and may lead to a range of esophageal mucosal changes, some clinically insignificant, however when deep ulceration occurs, this may be further complicated by perforation and mediastinitis, a rare but life threatening sequelae. We present a case of a severe esophageal injury leading to mediastinitis, with interesting endoscopic findings.
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