Esophageal Migration During Left Atrial Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

Because of the risk of atrio-esophageal fistula, a 38-year-old man with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation was asked to swallow barium contrast (barium sulfate esophageal cream 60% with water, EZ-EM Canada) before undergoing a left atrial catheter ablation with an electroanatomic mapping system (CARTO, Biosense Webster) to identify the location of the esophagus in relation to the posterior left atrium (Figure 1A). The location of the esophagus was tagged on the electroanatomic map at sites where …