Marco Costa, interventional cardiologist at Hospital da Luz Coimbra , was once again invited to give support to several hospitals in Asia, as international specialist in the technique of left atrial appendage closure (LAAO) guided by intracardiac echocardiography. To perform this technique, the cardiologist was in five hospitals, in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, where, as he explains, he had “the opportunity to assist several colleagues starting their experience in this more differentiated technique of structural intervention”. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, three of the five interventioned cardiac patients had previously been submitted to intervention resorting to other devices and other implant techniques, although unsuccessfully. “This is a procedure of great complexity, where the previous experience of the operators is fundamental to enhance the rate of success and avoid complications that can be fatal for the patient”, the cardiologist further explains . Marco Costa is a proctor (specialist in a specific procedure of Interventional Cardiology) and has provided training to several European physicians , in the scope of international practical courses hold in the Unit of Cardiovascular Intervention from Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, as well as in other hospitals in Europe, Australia, and now Asia. He also performs these structural interventions guided by intracardiac echocardiography at Hospital da Luz Coimbra , Luz Saúde unit that has been investing seriously in the area of cardiovascular intervention.
