Hybrid Convergent Procedure with Proactive Oesophageal Cooling for the Treatment of Long-Standing Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: a Case Series

The hybrid convergent procedure is approved to treat symptomatic patients with long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Despite direct visualization during surgical ablation as well as the use of luminal oesophageal temperature (LET) monitoring, oesophageal injury is still possible. A dedicated device for proactive oesophageal cooling has recently been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration to reduce the likelihood of ablation-related oesophageal injury resulting from radiofrequency cardiac ablation procedures. This report describes the first uses of proactive oesophageal cooling for oesophageal protection during the epicardial ablation portion of hybrid convergent procedures.