Atrial fibrillation: current surgical options and their assessment.

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with morbidity and mortality. Traditional surgical treatment of AF is the Cox-Maze III procedure, a complicated operation. New surgical approaches include alternate energy sources (radiofrequency, microwave, cryothermy) and simplified left atrial lesion sets. These operations cure AF in 70% to 80% of patients. This review describes contemporary and emerging surgical approaches to AF, synthesizes results of these operations, and proposes new standards for reporting results of AF treatment.