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Image challenge
Unusual fluoroscopic finding during atrial fibrillation cryoablation
  1. Gordon Andrew Begg,
  2. Muzahir Hassan Tayebjee
  1. Cardiology Department, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Gordon Andrew Begg, Cardiology Department, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds LS1 3EX, UK; gordon.begg{at}nhs.net

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Clinical introduction

During a routine ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, the right superior pulmonary vein was isolated using the cryoballoon. This was the final vein to be isolated. After the freeze, as the balloon was deflated and withdrawn, a radio-opaque structure was seen to mobilise from the vein ostium (figure 1A). This structure moved into the left atrium (figure 1B), left ventricle, aortic arch (figure 1C) and descending aorta (figure 1D) in turn (full fluoroscopic run available as online supplementary video file). The patient experienced no new …

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Footnotes

  • Contributors GAB wrote the manuscript and compiled the figure. He was second operator during the ablation procedure. MHT was first operator during the ablation procedure. He reviewed and approved the manuscript for submission.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent Not required.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.