UCL Discovery Stage
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery Stage

Left atrium appendage inversion: first computational study to shed light on the phenomenon

Vellaa, D; Musottoa, G; Cook, A; Bosi, GM; Burriesci, Gaetano; (2024) Left atrium appendage inversion: first computational study to shed light on the phenomenon. Heliyon , 10 (4) , Article e26629. 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26629. Green open access

[thumbnail of Burriesci_S2405844024026604.htm] Text
Burriesci_S2405844024026604.htm

Download (171kB)

Abstract

Inversion of the left atrial appendage is a rare phenomenon, which may occur during the de-airing maneuvers associated to routinely performed surgery procedures, such as cardiopulmonary bypass or left ventricular assist device implantation. In this case, the body of the inverted appendage can obstruct the mitral valve leading to severe complications. The mechanisms are still poorly known, and more specific studies are needed to better understand its causes and identify mitigating strategies. The current study attempts to gain a better comprehension of the conditions and the factors favourable to left atrial appendage inversion. Four patient specific appendage morphologies, obtained from computerised tomography and representative of the main typologies commonly used for the appendage classification (chicken wing, cactus, cauliflower, and windsock), were used for the study. The numerical models were subjected to the same loading pattern, made of subsequent different pressure curves. Results show that the morphologies invert and recover their original anatomical configuration at different pressure loads, indicating that their tendency to invert is associated to their specific morphological features. Moreover, the analysis highlights that, although restoring the physiological left atrium pressure is not sufficient to induce appendage recovery, pressures well below the ventricular ones can induce the return to the natural configuration. All models recovered the anatomical configuration at pressures well below the ventricular pressure (about 100 mmHg), suggesting that basic trans-catheter maneuvers, e.g. producing temporary mitral regurgitation, could be attempted to correct the appendage configuration, prior to opt for more invasive surgical approaches.

Type: Article
Title: Left atrium appendage inversion: first computational study to shed light on the phenomenon
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26629
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26629
Language: English
Additional information: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: LAA inversion, Finite element analysis, LAA morphology, LAA prolapse, LAA eversion
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10186541
Downloads since deposit
182Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item