title: Congenital absence of the left atrial appendage: a rare anatomical variation with clinical significance.
abstract: Congenital absence of the left atrial appendage (LAA) is extremely rare.We describe a case of congenial absence of the LAA in a patient scheduled for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. Absence of the LAA was found pre-procedurally by transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and cardiac computer tomography (CT). During the ablation procedure, the absence was confirmed by contrast injection at the usual location of the LAA.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Cardiology, Center for Atrial Fibrillation, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University and Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung, and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Jun
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jian-Zeng
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Chang-Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D020517:Atrial Appendage / Q000002:abnormalities*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods*; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007432:Intraoperative Period; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed