J Korean Med Sci.  2005 Oct;20(5):727-731. 10.3346/jkms.2005.20.5.727.

Epicardial Microwave Application in Chronic Atrial Fibrillation Surgery

• Lee SK
• Choo SJ
• Kim KS
• Lee JW

• KMID: 1781752
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2005.20.5.727

Abstract

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.

Keyword

Arrhythmia; Atrial Fibrillation; Microwaves

MeSH Terms

Age Distribution
Atrial Fibrillation/*epidemiology/*therapy
Chronic Disease
Cryosurgery/*statistics and numerical data
Female
Humans
Korea/epidemiology
Male
Microwaves/*therapeutic use
*Pericardium
Prognosis
Recurrence/prevention and control
Risk Assessment/methods
Risk Factors
Sex Distribution
Treatment Outcome