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Biatrial lesion sets

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Abstract

The Cox-Maze procedure was developed more than 20 years ago at our institution. This traditional cut-and-sew operation had high success rates but was very invasive. To simplify this procedure, our group developed an operation, the Cox-Maze IV procedure, that replaces most of the incisions with linear lines of ablation while preserving the traditional biatrial lesion set. The technical aspects of the procedure are discussed in detail. Initial operative results with this new procedure have been good, with a freedom from atrial fibrillation of 90% at 1 year. The success rate is not significantly different from the traditional cut-and-sew procedure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiac Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Suite 3108 Queeny Tower, 1 Barnes-Jewish Hospital Plaza, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Ralph J. Damiano Jr

  2. Research Fellow, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Rochus K. Voeller

Authors
  1. Ralph J. Damiano Jr
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  2. Rochus K. Voeller
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Correspondence to Ralph J. Damiano Jr.

Additional information

Supported by National Institutes of Health Grants R01 HL0322257-21 and F32 HL082129-02.

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Damiano, R.J., Voeller, R.K. Biatrial lesion sets. J Interv Card Electrophysiol 20, 95–99 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10840-007-9178-x

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