Surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation using radiofrequency energy

The Maze III procedure for atrial fibrillation (AF) is effective but has not been used widely due to its complexity, bleeding risk, and added operative time. Surgical radiofrequency ablation may simplify the procedure and make intraoperative correction of AF more accessible and widely performed.

Endocardial pulmonary venous isolation was performed on 48 patients with AF undergoing concurrent operation using temperature-controlled radiofrequency energy delivered through a hand-held flexible probe. Additional right-sided lesions were made at the surgeon's discretion.

Forty-two patients were appropriate for analysis (6 died). These patients had an AF duration of 4.8 +/- 6.4 years. At a mean follow-up of 138 +/- 96 days, 34 patients were in sinus rhythm. We were unable to demonstrate a difference in outcome based on AF duration, left atrial size, or addition of right-sided lesions.

Radiofrequency atrial ablation was effective in 81% of patients with AF at restoring sinus rhythm at an average follow-up of 4 months. This procedure is simple to perform and should broaden the number of patients that receive an AF treatment procedure during concurrent cardiac operation.