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Case Report

Esophageal Perforation Secondary to Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

James X. Liu1* and Maria C. Shiau2
1New York University School of Medicine, Radiology - OBH C&D Bldg., NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, USA
2Department of Radiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, USA
Corresponding Author : James X. Liu
New York University School of Medicine, Radiology - OBH C&D Bldg. D-120
NYU Langone Medical Center
550 1st Avenue, New York
NY 10016, USA
Tel: 443-528-4143
Fax: 212-263-7454
E-mail: James.Liu@nyumc.org
Received April 12, 2012; Accepted May 14, 2012; Published May 20, 2012
Citation: Liu JX, Shiau MC (2012) Esophageal Perforation Secondary to Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation. OMICS J Radiology. 1:106. doi: 10.4172/2167-7964.1000106
Copyright: © 2012 Liu JX, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Radiofrequency catheter ablation of pulmonary veins is generally a safe procedure used in patients with atrial fibrillation. We report a case of a 67-year old woman who suffered esophageal perforation following radiofrequency catheter ablation. Salient symptoms, such as dysphagia, severe chest pain, palpitations, and malaise, as well as the radiological findings of pneumopericardium and esophageal perforation were consistent with the presence of an atrioesophageal fistula. This extremely rare complication warrants immediate surgical intervention. Atrio-esophageal fistula is best diagnosed by thoracic CT with contrast, and may be prevented during the procedure by careful esophageal temperature monitoring and reduction of radiofrequency energy.

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