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Epicardial Atrial Fibrillation Ablation

  • Chapter
Book cover Atrial Fibrillation

Part of the book series: Contemporary Cardiology ((CONCARD))

Abstract

Since the fi rst Cox maze procedure was performed in 1987, the success of the surgery has consistently been demonstrated by surgeons at many institutions. Despite the impressive outcomes, this surgery has not been widely adopted because of the complexity of the procedure. Development of energy sources to produce scar lines that replace the “cut-and-sew” incisions has generated interest in development of minimally invasive beating heart surgical approaches. Using these energy sources with only an epicardial, off-pump approach is still in the early state but is an area of intense clinical investigation. Hybrid approaches combine surgical epicardial ablation with endocardial catheter ablation by electrophysiologists to perform more of the Cox maze lesions and utilize mapping to ablate gaps. While early follow-up data suggest success rates of 85%, lesion sets to provide the best outcome are not yet defi ned. Data on the long-term effectiveness of these approaches are not yet available.

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Acknowledgment

Dr. McCarthy is a consultant to Medtronic and MedicalCV regarding atrial fibrillation therapies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL

    Patrick M. McCarthy (Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Co-Director, Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, Heller-Sacks Professor of Surgery)

  2. Center for Atrial Fibrillation, Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL

    Jane Kruse

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  1. Patrick M. McCarthy
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, USA

    Andrea Natale MD (Executive Medical Director of the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, Consulting Professor) (Executive Medical Director of the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, Consulting Professor)

  2. Division of Cardiology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Andrea Natale MD (Executive Medical Director of the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, Consulting Professor) (Executive Medical Director of the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, Consulting Professor)

  3. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    José Jalife MD (Professor of Internal Medicine, The Cyrus and Jane Farrehi Professor of Cardiovascular Research, Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology) (Professor of Internal Medicine, The Cyrus and Jane Farrehi Professor of Cardiovascular Research, Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology)

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© 2008 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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McCarthy, P.M., Kruse, J. (2008). Epicardial Atrial Fibrillation Ablation. In: Natale, A., Jalife, J. (eds) Atrial Fibrillation. Contemporary Cardiology. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-163-5_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-163-5_23

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-856-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-163-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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