Left Atrial Appendage Patency at Cardioversion After Surgical Left Atrial Appendage Intervention [1]
The authors retrospectively reviewed the postoperative TEEs on patients undergoing DCCV within 30 days after cardiac surgery that included LAA closure (n=93 patients). The presence of a residual communication between the LAA and the left atrium was 37% overall. The LAA patency rates according to LAA technique were as follows: amputation, 0%; suture closure, 51%; staple exclusion, 29%. These results beg the question: should the appendage always be amputated?