Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Complicated by Appendage Perforation Rescued by Device Deployment

Anna Sarcon; Dipayon Roy; David Laughrun; Mary Huntsinger; Jacqueline Schwartz; Jina Sohn; Rahul N Doshi

doi:10.1177/2324709618800108

Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Complicated by Appendage Perforation Rescued by Device Deployment

J Investig Med High Impact Case Rep. 2018 Sep 11:6:2324709618800108. doi: 10.1177/2324709618800108. eCollection 2018 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Anna Sarcon¹, Dipayon Roy¹, David Laughrun¹, Mary Huntsinger¹, Jacqueline Schwartz¹, Jina Sohn¹, Rahul N Doshi¹

Affiliation

¹ University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Abstract

The Watchman device is a transcatheter left atrial appendage (LAA) occluding device used in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and a high CHADS2-VA2SC score who are poor long-term anticoagulation candidates. Pericardial effusion related to device deployment and perforation can be a life-threatening complication. While not common in hands of experienced operators, management may require surgical intervention. Here we present a rare case of LAA perforation, which was corrected by successful repositioning of the device foregoing the need for surgical management.

Keywords: Watchman; left atrial appendage occlusion; pericardial effusion.