A new surgical procedure successfully treated atrial fibrillation in 100% of 22 refractory patients, with no operative deaths and preservation of atrial transport function.
Observational (n=22)
A Review of Surgery for Atrial Fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is the most common of all sustained cardiac arrhythmias, yet it has no effective medical or surgical therapy. During the past decade, multipoint computerized electrophysiologic mapping systems were used to map both experimental and human atrial fibrillation. On the basis of these studies, a new surgical procedure was developed for atrial fibrillation. Between September 25, 1987, and July 1, 1991, this procedure was applied in 22 patients with paroxysmal atrial flutter (n = 2), paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (n = 11), or chronic atrial fibrillation (n = 9) of 2 to 21 years duration. All patients were refractory to all antiarrhythmic medications, and each patient failed to receive the desired therapeutic benefits of an average of five drugs administered preoperatively. There were no operative deaths and all perioperative morbidity resolved. All 22 patients have been successfully treated for atrial fibrillation with surgery alone. Preservation of atrial transport function has been documented in all patients postoperatively, and all have experienced marked clinical improvement.
Cox et al. (Sun,) conducted a observational in Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter (n=22). New surgical procedure for atrial fibrillation was evaluated on Successful treatment for atrial fibrillation with surgery alone. A new surgical procedure successfully treated atrial fibrillation in 100% of 22 refractory patients, with no operative deaths and preservation of atrial transport function.