Epicardial surgical clip is showed to be a safe and effective tool in
order to achieve a complete left atrial appendage (LAA) exclusion thus
reducing the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.
Historically, other methods as surgical ligation, internal oversewing or
external stapling showed to be largely uneffective with an incidence of
LAA residual flow ranging from 25% to 35% thus, increasing per se 5-
to 10-fold the risk of stroke. Epicardial LAA exclusion by means of
external clip could be potentially released under transesophageal
echocardiographic guidance thus increasing the procedural success rate
of complete closure with no residual stump left.
Epicardial clip closure of the left atrial appendage: Reply
