title: Incomplete endothelialization of left atrial appendage occlusion device 10 months after implantation.
abstract: We describe the case of a 74-year-old man with Rendu Osler Weber syndrome affected by permanent atrial fibrillation, who underwent percutaneous placement of a 24-mm Watchman left atrial appendage system. After anticoagulation therapy dismissal, he had a transient ischemic attack (TIA). Therefore he underwent surgical removal of the device, ablation of atrial fibrillation with Maze IV procedure and biatrial reduction. Very interestingly, no significant endothelialization of the device was observed 10 months after implantation. In conclusion, this case is important because, to our knowledge, it is the first finding of Watchman device with lack of endothelialization.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Surgery Unit, Sant'Orsola Hospital, University of Bologna, Via Massarenti 9, Bologna, Italy. luca.massarenti@ymail.com
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Massarenti
authors.forename: Alaaddin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D020517:Atrial Appendage / Q000601:surgery*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation; D055989:Septal Occluder Device; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing