Percutaneous LAA occlusion can result in late, asymptomatic device migration requiring surgical removal, highlighting the necessity of careful echocardiographic follow-up.
Late asymptomatic LAA occluder migration may require urgent surgery; this case leaves open true incidence and optimal surveillance protocols.
Percutaneous closure of the left atrial appendage (LAA) is a new approach to the prevention of cardioembolic events in patients with atrial fibrillation. We implanted an LAA occlusion device (Amplatzer™ Cardiac Plug) in a 70-year-old woman via a transseptal approach. Upon her discharge from the hospital, a transthoracic echocardiogram showed stable anchoring of the device; 6 months after implantation, a routine transthoracic echocardiogram revealed migration of the occluder into the left ventricular outflow tract, in the absence of symptoms. We surgically removed the device from the mitral subvalvular apparatus and closed the LAA with sutures. This case shows that percutaneous LAA occlusion can result in serious adverse events, including device migration in the absence of signs or symptoms; therefore, careful follow-up monitoring is mandatory.
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Pisani et al. (2014) studied this question.
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