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Updated: Feb 22, 2026
Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 26, 2013
Unexpected Left Atrial Thrombus After Aortic Valve Replacement and Left Atrial Ligation With AtriClip Device: A Case
Kinjal M Patel1, Michael Rosenbloom, Muhammad Raza
1From the Department of Anesthesiology, Department of Surgery, and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, New Jersey; and Department of Anesthesia, Cooper University HealthCare, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, New Jersey.
Abstract:
We report the unexpected transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) finding of a left atrial (LA) thrombus near the end of cardiopulmonary bypass and after deployment of an AtriClip (Atricure, Inc, Westchester, OH) in an 84-year-old man with atrial fibrillation and aortic stenosis undergoing aortic valve replacement and LA appendage ligation. TEE examination before cardiopulmonary bypass and deployment of the AtriClip had not shown a thrombus in the LA appendage. The heart was rearrested and thrombus was successfully removed through a left atriotomy. This case emphasizes the importance of careful TEE examination for dislodged thrombi after surgical manipulation of the LA appendage.
