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Updated: Dec 18, 2025

Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 26, 2013
Safety and Feasibility of Same-Day Discharge After Left Atrial Appendage Closure
Thomas S Gilhofer1, Taku Inohara1, Ashkan Parsa1
1Vancouver General Hospital, Division of Cardiology, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Abstract:
Subacute or late complications > 24 hours after left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) are infrequent. We therefore created a clinical pathway to enable safe same-day discharge (SDD) after LAAC. Patients were assessed for overall physical conditioning, lack of significant frailty and comorbidities limiting physical abilities, good home support, and patient preference. Of 78 LAACs performed, 24 patients (30.8%) were discharged the same day: 21 were transesophageal echocardiography guided and 3 intracardiac echocardiography guided. SDD clinical pathway patients were discharged 395.4 ± 56.6 minutes after leaving the procedural room. There were no clinical complications at 1 month or in long-term follow-up. SDD is safe and feasible after LAAC, following a dedicated clinical pathway and surveillance in carefully selected patients.

