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Updated: Mar 28, 2026
Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 26, 2013
Staged versus Simultaneous Thoracoscopic Hybrid Ablation for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Does Not Affect Time to
Travis D Richardson1, M Benjamin Shoemaker1, S Patrick Whalen2
1Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Introduction:
Totally thoracoscopic (TT) epicardial ablation combined with endocardial catheter ablation is an emerging treatment for persistent AF. The effects of timing of the TT and endocardial portion on AT/AF recurrence are not known.
Methods:
We retrospectively analyzed patients undergoing TT staged versus simultaneous hybrid AF ablation at our institution. Arrhythmia-free outcome was compared using time to recurrence (AF or AT greater than 30 seconds after a 3-month blanking period from endocardial ablation) at 12 months. All subjects had continuous ILR or PM monitoring.
Results:
Eighty-three patients (52 same-day, 31 staged) underwent TT hybrid AF ablation. Recurrence was observed in 23 (29%) patients at a median time of 147 days (IQR 91,238). In univariate analysis, a staged approach significantly increased the likelihood of detecting incomplete PVI (OR 6 [95% CI 2-17] P = 0.001). However, only longstanding persistent AF (LSP-AF) status predicted recurrence (HR 4 [95% CI 1.4-12] P = 0.01). Neither a staged approach (HR 1.0 [95% CI 0.4-2.4] P = 0.9), nor detection of incomplete PVI (HR 0.9 [95% CI 0.4-2.3] P = 0.8) predicted time to first AF/AT recurrence.
Conclusions:
Staged hybrid ablation of AF significantly increases the likelihood of discovering incomplete PVI at the time of endocardial mapping versus a same-day procedure. However, the staged approach did not improve time to first AT/AF recurrence.
