It’s called the left atrial appendage. For patients with atrial fibrillation, it can become a reservoir where blood clots form, migrate and cause stroke or other serious problems. That’s why afib patients require blood thinners that, while effective, can impact quality of life.

What if you could eliminate that appendage and thus eliminate the need for blood thinners? At Boca Raton Regional Hospital we can.

Boca Regional’s Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery, Richard Cartledge, MD, FACS, is one of a select group of surgeons nationally to be performing ultra-minimally invasive ligation of the left atrial appendage. Using two microscopic incisions, he seals off the appendage and closes it from circulation so clots no longer can be formed in the structure. It is then reabsorbed by the body.

No left atrial appendage. No risk of forming clots. No need for blood thinners. And Dr. Cartledge does the procedure using incisions that are 1/5 of an inch compared to traditional minimally invasive openings of 2.5 inches. That means most patients require only over-the-counter pain medication, require no post-operative chest tube and can go home the next day.

Ultra-Minimally Invasive Left Atrial Ligation at Boca Raton Regional Hospital.
For Afib patients, it’s where 1/5 of an inch can change their lives.