[A comparative study between surgical section and radiofrequency ablation of the anomalous pathways in the WPW...

Radiofrequency catheter ablation is an effective alternative to medical therapy to patient with Wolff Parkinson White syndrome (WPW). The purpose of this study is to compare our results in 70 patients with WPW that underwent either surgery or ablation procedure with radiofrequency energy. Of this number of patients the surgical procedure was successful in 82%; complications were present in 15% and mortality in 8%. Average hospitalization was 6 to 10 days and cost from 2 to 10 thousand of new pesos. On the other hand, of 44 patients that underwent radiofrequency ablation, in 80% the procedure was finally successful with recurrence of 9% and no mortality. The hospitalization period was one day, the cost run from 500 to 2 thousand of new pesos in our institution. These results demonstrate the efficacy of the radiofrequency energy ablation in the treatment of WPW. This procedure is safe and less expensive than surgery.