Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 23, 2026
23:33
The WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure Device for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 28, 2012
84.2K
Retro-Curve Access Sheath for Retroverted Anatomy in Left Atrial Appendage Closure: Bench Validation and
Vlad Ciobotaru1,2,3,4, Meyer Elbaz5, Xavier Iriart6
1Cardiology Department, Hôpital Privé les Franciscaines, Nîmes, France.
Structural Heart : the Journal of the Heart Team
|April 22, 2026
Abstract
None:
•Left atrial appendage (LAA)-Print registry analysis identified 22 retroverted LAA anatomies treated with WATCHMAN.•Retro LAA was associated with high rates of off-axis deployment, leak, and failure.•All 22 cases underwent bench testing using soft patient-specific atrial models.•Double-curve and steerable sheaths remained noncoaxial despite puncture optimization.•A newly designed retro-curve sheath restored axial alignment regardless of puncture site.
