The change in the fluoroscopy-guided transseptal puncture site and difficult punctures in catheter ablation of recurrent atrial fibrillation

Abstract

The incidence of a difficult puncture was higher in the second procedure compared with the first procedure. The transseptal puncture site moved higher in the second procedure. Chronic scarring over the previous transseptal site is a reasonable hypothesis to explain the observations. The difficult punctures experienced during the second procedure might be overcome by changing the needle curve from a small curve to a large curve design.