Adjunctive modalities successfully differentiated true thrombus from spontaneous echo contrast, allowing safe left atrial appendage occluder deployment in a series of cases.
Case Report
Adjunctive imaging modalities can help differentiate true LAA thrombus from spontaneous echo contrast to safely guide LAA occlusion.
Left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion is a valuable therapeutic option for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation who have contraindication to long-term anticoagulation. However, the presence of LAA thrombus is a contraindication to device implantation. Differentiating a true thrombus from spontaneous echo contrast or "sludge" on transesophageal echocardiography is both challenging and crucial for procedural safety. We present a series of cases using adjunctive modalities that allowed safe LAA occluder deployment.
Sliem et al. (2026) conducted a case report in Atrial fibrillation. Adjunctive modalities was evaluated on Safe LAA occluder deployment. Adjunctive modalities successfully differentiated true thrombus from spontaneous echo contrast, allowing safe left atrial appendage occluder deployment in a series of cases.