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Minimally invasive surgical treatment of lone atrial fibrillation: Early results of hybrid versus standard minimally invasive approach employing radiofrequency sources

Journal Contribution - Journal Article

Background: We compared short-term results of a hybrid versus a standard surgical bilateral thoracoscopic approach employing radiofrequency (RF) sources in the surgical treatment of lone atrial fibrillation (LAF).

Methods: Between January 2008 and July 2010 sixty-three consecutive patients with LAF underwent minimally invasive surgery. Thirty-five (55.5%) underwent surgery with the hybrid approach whereas 28 (45.5%) underwent bilateral thoracoscopic standard procedure (no-hybrid group). All patients underwent continuous 7-day Holter Monitoring (HM) at 3 months, 6 months and 1 year.

Results: At 1 year, 91.4% and 82.1% (time-related prevalence 5.2% vs. 6.0% [p=0.56]) of the patients were free of AF and AAD. The hybrid group yielded better results in long standing persistent AF (8.2% [time related prevalence 81.8% vs. 44.4%, p=0.001] vs. 14.9%, p=0.04). One-year success rates were 87.5% vs. 100% (p=0.04) in persistent [time related prevalence 3.8% vs. 0%, p
Conclusions: The hybrid procedure yielded excellent results in long-standing persistent AF. Our findings need to be confirmed by further larger studies.
Journal: Int J Cardiol
ISSN: 0167-5273
Issue: 4
Volume: 167
Pages: 1469-1475
Publication year:2013
Keywords:Atrial fibrillation, Ablation, Surgical ablation
  • Scopus Id: 84881480710