Current status of surgery for the treatment of arrhythmia
Fukahara, K.; Misaki, T.
Nihon Rinsho. Japanese Journal of Clinical Medicine 60(7): 1369-1372
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 0047-1852 PMID: 12136616 Document Number: 551905
The success of the radiofrequency catheter ablation procedure for most types of supraventricular and ventricular tachycardia largely eliminated the role of surgical therapy of arrhythmias. However, there remains a subset of arrhythmia patients in whom the catheter approach has not been successful and types of arrhythmias with high recurrence rates following initially successful catheter ablation procedures where surgery can provide more definitive therapy. On the other hand, collaborations therapy with surgery and catheter procedure has become more important. For example, some of the new treatment strategies are based on the replacement of the surgical incisions of the Maze procedure using intraoperative radiofrequency coagulation thereby preventing functional determined reentrant circuits. It can be expected that intraoperative ablation for arrhythmia will become an important curative treatment strategy.