Figure 3. Contrast defect (CD) after left atrial appendage
(LAA) closure.
The patients had undergone clipping of LAA during coronary artery bypass
graft surgery. There remained an LAA portion between the site of the LAA
clipping and entrance of the LAA after the surgery. CDs were observed
with contrast computed tomography (CT) in both the early (A) and late
phases (B) at the left atrial side of the LAA closure. The anticoagulant
was switched from rivaroxaban to dabigatran, and 38 days later, the
subsequent late-phase prone-position contrast CT (late-pCT) showed a
much larger CD in the same area as the LAA (C). Then, we changed the
agent to warfarin, and finally, the CD vanished on late-pCT 58days after
second CT scanning (D). Arrows show CDs.