Advances in the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation

Surgical treatment is the most effective means of curing atrial fibrillation (AF). The classic Maze procedure eliminates AF in more than 90% of patients. A complex but safe operation, the Maze procedure is applied by relatively few surgeons. Recently, however, there has been a resurgence of interest in surgical treatment of AF. Advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of AF and development of new ablation technologies enable surgeons to perform pulmonary vein ablation and create linear left atrial lesions rapidly and safely. Such procedures, which add 15 minutes to operative time, ablate AF in approximately 80% of patients. New ablation technologies are being adapted to enable thoracoscopic and minimally invasive surgical AF ablation in patients with lone AF.