Understanding the anatomic relationship between the esophagus and left atrium is crucial to minimize complications during atrial fibrillation ablation.
The nonuniform thickness of the posterior left atrial wall and the variable fibrofatty layer between the wall and the esophagus are risk factors that must be considered during ablation procedure. Esophageal arteries and vagus nerve plexus on the anterior surface of the esophagus may be affected by ablative procedures.
Sánchez‐Quintana et al. (Tue,) studied this question.