Surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation using argon-based cryoablation during concomitant cardiac procedures

Charles A. Mack, Federico Milla, Wilson Ko, Leonard N. Girardi, Leonard Y. Lee, Anthony J. Tortolani, Justin Mascitelli, Karl H. Krieger, O. Wayne Isom

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background - The development of ablative energy sources has simplified the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) during concomitant cardiac procedures. We report our results using argon-based endocardial cryoablation for the treatment of AF in patients undergoing concomitant cardiac procedures. Methods and Results - Sixty-three patients with AF who were undergoing concomitant cardiac procedures had the same left atrial endocardial lesion set using a flexible argon-based cryoablative device. Mean age was 65.1±1.3 years. Sixty-two percent had permanent AF, whereas 38% had paroxysmal AF. Mean duration of AF was 30.5±4.8 months. Mean left atrial diameter was 5.5±0.1 cm. Mean ejection fraction was 45±1.4%. All endocardial lesions were performed for 1 minute once tissue temperature reached -40°C. Follow-up echocardiograms were obtained to determine freedom from AF. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated an 88.5% freedom from AF rate at 12 months. Ablation time was 16.8±0.6 minutes. There were no in-hospital deaths and no strokes. Twelve patients (19%) required postoperative permanent pacemaker placement. Conclusions - Cryoablation using this flexible argon-based device for the treatment of AF during concomitant cardiac procedures was safe and effective, with 88.5% of patients free from AF at 12 months.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)I1-I6
JournalCirculation
Volume112
Issue number9 SUPPL.
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 30 2005
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Ablation
  • Arrhythmia
  • Atrial flutter
  • Fibrillation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Physiology (medical)

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