Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...
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Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
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Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017
“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD
2024 AF Symposium Challenging Cases: Fixing an Atrial Esophageal Fistula Without Surgery
Always one of the most interesting presentations at the AF Symposium is the section “Challenging Cases in AF Management and Stroke Prevention.” Some of the world’s leading EPs talk about the most difficult cases they had to struggle with such as this case of an Atrial Esophageal Fistula.
Background: An Atrial Esophageal Fistula occurs when the esophagus is damaged during an ablation. Ulcer-like lesions form 2-3 weeks following the ablation and gastric acids (reflux) can eat away at these lesions creating a fistula (hole). Without major intervention, stomach contents can pass from the esophagus into the heart, leading to bloodstream infection (sepsis) and death.
Though this happens very rarely (one in 1000+ cases), Dr. Young-Hoon Kim, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, South Korea described a case of Atrial Esophageal Fistula when no surgeon was available to save the patient’s life.
What he did was…to continue reading my report=>go to Challenging Cases: Fixing an Atrial Esophageal Fistula Without Surgery.
To read other presentations in this series, go to My Summary Reports Written for Atrial Fibrillation Patients.
