The dormant epicardial reconnection of pulmonary vein: an unusual cause of recurrent atrial fibrillation after pulmonary vein isolation

Abstract

The case of a 65-year-old man with recurrent atrial fibrillation after undergoing segmental pulmonary vein isolation caused by the reconnection of previously isolated pulmonary veins is herein reported. Interestingly, frequent ectopic firings in the left superior pulmonary vein conducted to the left atrium, not through its ostium but through the supposed epicardial pathway at the region of the Marshall ligament, which had been absent during the first treatment session. The reisolation of the left superior pulmonary vein by radiofrequency application in the left atrial appendage thus successfully eliminated the occurrence of atrial fibrillation.