Epicardial microwave ablation resulted in a similar recurrence rate of atrial fibrillation compared to the conventional cryosurgical Maze procedure (14% vs. 15%, p=0.841), while significantly reducing aortic cross-clamp time.
Cohort (n=28)
No
Does epicardial microwave ablation produce identical AF recurrence results and reduce procedural times compared to standard cryosurgical Maze in patients with chronic AF undergoing cardiac surgery?
Epicardial microwave ablation appears to be a viable alternative to the conventional cryosurgical Maze procedure, significantly reducing aortic cross-clamp time while maintaining similar efficacy in preventing AF recurrence.
Absolute Event Rate: 14% vs 15%
p-value: p=0.841
The search for alternative epicardial energy sources in the treatment of nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) is a relatively new aspect of the evolving spectrum of Maze operations. We tested the hypothesis that epicardial microwave ablation produces identical results to those of the standard cryosurgical Maze. Fourteen consecutive patients with chronic AF underwent on-pump epicardial Maze procedures after routine cardiac surgery. The results were compared with those of 14 control patients selected from our Maze database of 280 patients. There were no differences in age, sex, cardiothoracic ratio, duration of AF, pump time, intensive care unit or hospital stays. The aortic cross clamp time with epicardial microwave was, however, shortened from 110 to 65 minutes (p=0.011). The recurrence rate of AF after discharge showed no significant difference between the two groups (14% vs. 15%, p=0.841). Epicardial microwave ablation might be a valuable alternative to the conventional cryosurgical Maze procedure, especially for those patients without associated mitral valve disease.
Lee et al. (Sat,) conducted a cohort in Chronic Atrial Fibrillation (n=28). Epicardial microwave ablation vs. Cryosurgical Maze procedure was evaluated on Recurrence rate of atrial fibrillation after discharge (p=0.841). Epicardial microwave ablation resulted in a similar recurrence rate of atrial fibrillation compared to the conventional cryosurgical Maze procedure (14% vs. 15%, p=0.841), while significantly reducing aortic cross-clamp time.