Left Atrial Appendage: Mere Spectator or Protagonist? A Narrative Review of Its Multimodal Imaging Assessment and Its Closure Techniques
Martina Belli, Gianpiero Italiano, Francesca Lassandro Pepe, Francesca Vespasiano, Roberto Celotto, Raffaele Scaffa, Andrea Salica, Paolo Ciancarella, Tanya Salvatore, Donatella Cantisani, Tiziana Salatino, Ruggero De Paulis, Fabrizio Tomai · 2026
Read Left Atrial Appendage: Mere Spectator or Protagonist? A Narrative Review of Its Multimodal Imaging Assessment and Its Closure Techniques by Martina Belli, Gianpiero Italiano, Francesca Lassandro Pepe, Francesca Vespasiano, Roberto Celotto, Raffaele Scaffa, Andrea Salica, Paolo Ciancarella, Tanya Salvatore, Donatella Cantisani, Tiziana Salatino, Ruggero De Paulis, Fabrizio Tomai (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13607071.txt.
Description
Martina Belli and twelve co-authors review a small pouch on the heart that has moved to center stage, in this 2026 paper. The left atrial appendage is a finger-like pocket off the heart's upper left chamber. Long dismissed as a useless recess, it is now known as a prime site where clots form in patients with the rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation.
Closing the pouch, by catheter device or surgery, offers stroke protection for patients who cannot take blood thinners for life. Imaging makes each step possible: ultrasound, CT, and other scans select patients, plan the device size, guide placement, and check the seal afterward. The review walks through the imaging toolkit, including newer tools, and the main closure techniques. The authors conclude that imaging is not a support act but a requirement at every step.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Martina Belli, Gianpiero Italiano, Francesca Lassandro Pepe, Francesca Vespasiano, Roberto Celotto, Raffaele Scaffa, Andrea Salica, Paolo Ciancarella, Tanya Salvatore, Donatella Cantisani, Tiziana Salatino, Ruggero De Paulis, Fabrizio Tomai |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 30 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |