title: Ablating the Posterior Heart: Cardioesophageal Fistula Complicating Radiofrequency Ablation in the Coronary Sinus.
abstract: Cardioesophageal fistulas (CEFs) are uncommon but life-threatening complications of radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF). They are usually, but not exclusively, related to ablation of the left atrial posterior wall. We report a case of a 73-year-old man that presented with CEF following RF ablation in the coronary sinus, highlighting the importance of esophageal temperature monitoring whenever ablating in the posterior heart.
authors.affiliation: Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Mahmut Fatih
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Güneş
authors.affiliation: Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Yalçin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gökoğlan
authors.affiliation: Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, USA.|Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA.|Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA.|Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: DI Biase
authors.affiliation: Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, USA.|Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Carola
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gianni
authors.affiliation: Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Sanghamitra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohanty
authors.affiliation: Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, USA.|Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Rodney
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Horton
authors.affiliation: Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.affiliation: Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, USA.|Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA.|Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA.|MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.|Division of Cardiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.|Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia Services, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA.|Interventional Electrophysiology, Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, California, USA.|Dell Medical School, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Natale
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D001831:Body Temperature; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D054326:Coronary Sinus; D004937:Esophageal Fistula / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D005402:Fistula; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000473:pathology*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: atrial fibrillation; atrioesophageal fistula; catheter ablation; coronary sinus; esophagopericardial fistula