HPSD ablation: Complications
There has been concern regarding using HPSD ablation with CF sensing
catheters especially over the thin posterior wall of the LA due to
potential complications like atrioesophageal fistula and steam pops
leading to cardiac tamponade. Most previous clinical studies utilized
high power and longer ablation duration to perform segmental PV
isolation using non-CF catheters that resulted in an increased incidence
of cardiac tamponade and PV stenosis.38, 49, 50Therefore, it was thought that shortening the duration of the high power
ablation might mitigate these complications. Subsequent studies
shortened the ablation duration to less than 15 seconds depending on the
power used and demonstrated a comparable safety profile to conventional
ablation.23, 29, 39