The Use of Transoesophageal Echocardiography for Guiding Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion: Impact on Radiation Exposure

The aim of this study was primarily to determine if left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion guided mainly by transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a feasible and safe method and secondly to quantify radiation exposure during the procedure. Six consecutive patients who underwent LAA occlusion over a period of 12 months were included. TEE was used as the primary imaging technique and fluoroscopy helped as an imaging adjunct. The mean dose area product (DAP) of all procedures was retrospectively compared with the radiation exposure of other interventional procedures held in the same period, in the same laboratory. Deployment of the devise was successful in all patients and no complications occurred during the procedure. The mean DAP was 35.10 Gy*cm 2 . This value is less than radiation exposure during percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTCA) (239 procedures, mean DAP: 67.64 Gy*cm 2 ) and less than primary PTCA (264 procedures, mean DAP: 70.95 Gy*cm 2 ). However, it remains higher than radiation exposure during coronary angiography (492 procedures, mean DAP: 31.50 Gy*cm 2 ), ablation (23 procedures, mean