[Available transvenous occluder designs and implantation techniques]

In this article, most of the present or available in the near future left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion devices are discussed in terms of structure of the devices and principle technique for implantation. Thus, the Watchman™ device from Boston, the Amulet™ device from Abbot, the Lambre™ device from Lifetech, the Occlutech® device from Occlutech®, and the WaveCrest® device from Biosense Webster (former Coherex) are discussed. The systems differ in terms of the concept of occlusion. Several devices consist of only one part (Watchman™ and Occlutech®) that is implanted in the body, ending up in the orifice of the LAA. Others like the Amulet™ or Lambre™ device have an additional disc covering the orifice of the LAA from the left atrial side. The distal anchoring system is implanted first in the body of the LAA; thereafter, the disc is placed upon the orifice. With the WaveCrest® device, covering of the orifice is performed as the first step followed by rolling in the anchoring system to fix the device to the body of the LAA.