Surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation: State of the art, 2012
Atrial Fibrillation Monday, November 5th, 2012Journal o f Arrhythmia: 10/18/12
The development and introduction of radiofrequency ablation devices allowed maze procedure to be performed safely and easily, further enabling off-pump pulmonary vein isolation through mini-thoracotomy or thoracoscopy. The outcomes of the maze procedure include the prevention of stroke and other complications related to atrial fibrillation (AF), improvement in cardiac performance, and relief of symptoms. The indications for the maze procedure have been discussed on the basis of available evidence. Pulmonary vein isolation has been shown to be effective in most patients with paroxysmal AF, and can be performed with both endocardial catheter ablation and minimally invasive epicardial ablation. These 2 modalities should be compared in terms of the success rate, occurrence of cerebral microembolic signals, capability adding other lesions indicated for persistent or long-standing persistent AF, and closure of the left atrial appendage. Read more
