Transvenous Catheter Ablation of a Posteroseptal Accessory Pathway in a Patient with the Wolff–Parkinson–White Syndrome

WE have described a technique of closed-chest catheter ablation of the atrioventricular junction by electrocoagulation in dogs.1 We and others have used this technique in patients with supraventricular tachycardia refractory to pharmacologic therapy and antitachycardia pacing.2,3 More recent experimental observations have demonstrated that electric shocks delivered to the atrial septum resulted in localized atrial fibrosis without perforation or marked effects on atrioventricular conduction (Scheinman MM, et al.: unpublished observations). On the basis of these observations, a technique was developed for catheter ablation of septal accessory pathways in human beings.We report here on a patient who had the Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome . . .