Electrophysiologic evaluation and surgical correction of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome in children

The Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is due to a congenital heart malformation that is the result of one or more persistent anomalous atrioventricular pathway(s). While supraventricular tachycardia is the most commonly associated arrhythmia, there is a wide spectrum of associated arrhythmias including fatal ventricular fibrillation. It is now known that surgical ablation of the anomalous pathway(s) can result in complete cure of arrhythmias in some patients. The purpose of this report is to describe the current methods used for the preoperative and operative electrophysiologic evaluation and surgical treatment in children with the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, as illustrated by the case presentation of a normal eight-year-old patient who had ventricular fibrillation.