Percutaneous transhepatic access for catheter ablation of a patient with heterotaxy syndrome complicated with atrial fibrillation: A case report

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common arrhythmias, and radiofrequency catheter ablation is the most effective treatment strategy. The inferior vena cava (IVC) is a common approach for radiofrequency ablation of AF. However, this approach may not be applied to some cases such as chronic venous occlusions, surgical ligation of the IVC, and heterotaxy syndrome (HS). CASE SUMMARY: A 68-year-old man with HS suffered from severely symptomatic persistent AF for 9 years, and we successfully ablated by percutaneous transhepatic access. CONCLUSION: In patients without femoral vein access, the use of the hepatic vein for pulmonary vein isolation is a viable alternative for invasive electrophysiology procedures.