Surgical treatment of tachyarrhythmias in patients with both an Ebstein anomaly and a Kent bundle
Sealy, W.C.; Gallagher, J.J.; Pritchett, E.L.; Wallace, A.G.
Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 75(6): 847-853
1978
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-5223 PMID: 661355 Document Number: 133382
The report relates experience with six patients with Kent bundles, five of whom had the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, operated upon for tachyarrhythmias caused by the presence of the pathway. It was successfully divided in four patients, its antegrade conduction capacity interrupted in one, and a failure occurred in the sixth patient. In the three patients who had a Kent bundle with a short effective refractory period for antegrade conduction, the life-endangering potential of the Kent pathway was corrected. To emphasize the complexities of the tachyarrhythmias in Ebstein's anomaly, two patients have mild but controllable postoperative supraventricular tachyarrhythmias (SVT) due to a Mahaim pathway. The surgical problems encountered in these patients are reviewed.