A novel approach to restore atrial function after the maze procedure in patients with an enlarged left atrium

Rheumatic mitral valve repair: a physiologic and dynamic approach

Rheumatic valve repair although complex but with better understanding of mitral complex and dynamics, successful rate of mitral repair is enhanced and promising.

Rheumatic mitral valve repair: a personal perspective and results

Rheumatic mitral valve disease remains a challenge for cardiac surgeons. Valve repair has several advantages over valve replacement but is technically demanding for good results. To improve rheumatic mitral valve repair, surgeons need to have a deep understand of the mitral valve complex and its dynamics. The goal of repair is to restore normal diastolic and systolic function. The current approach is to perform a holistic repair of the entire mitral complex. Each part of the complex is thoroughly explored to define the problem. Several innovative techniques have been introduced to correct valve dysfunction and provide gratifying results. The details of these techniques will be described, based on an understanding of the relationship of the mitral valve complex and dynamics. With this approach, rheumatic mitral valve repair is becoming more successful, reproducible, and safe. Long-term follow-up is mandatory.

Surgical Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common chronic arrhythmia in the adult population. Ablation lines have largely replaced the historical and challenging cut and sew techniques. Surgical ablation of AF is commonly performed in cases with other indications for cardiac surgery and less commonly as a stand-alone therapy. Pulmonary vein isolation is the cornerstone of this procedure. Extended left atrial ablation lines may increase efficacy in cases with longstanding persistent or permanent AF. Additional efficacy by adding right atrial ablation is controversial but is often performed in cases undergoing right atrial or atrial septal surgery. Left atrial volume reduction is recommended in cases with large left atria and AF undergoing another cardiac surgery. Arrhythmia recurrence is not uncommon after surgical ablation of AF and varies among studies due to heterogeneity in patient population, lesion set and endpoints. Freedom from AF recurrence was 65-87% at 12 months and 58-70% at 2 years follow-up. Long-term monitoring is recommended due to an increased prevalence of asymptomatic recurrences. The strongest predictors of AF recurrence are longstanding or persistent AF and a large left atrium. The most common mechanisms of recurrence are pulmonary vein reconnection, nonpulmonary vein triggers, and gaps in the ablation lines. About 20% of atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrences are atrial flutter or atrial tachycardia. There are not enough data in the surgical literature to support withdrawal of anticoagulation after surgical AF ablation. Patients selected for stand-alone surgical ablation usually have low risk profiles and low postoperative mortality rates (0.2%).

Guideline for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and its prevalence is ∼1-2% of the general population, but higher with increasing age and in patients with concomitant heart disease. The Cox-maze III procedure was a groundbreaking development and remains the surgical intervention with the highest cure rate, but due to its technical difficulty alternative techniques have been developed to create the lesions sets. The field is fast moving and there are now multiple energy sources, multiple potential lesion sets and even multiple guidelines addressing the issues surrounding the surgical treatment of AF both for patients undergoing this concomitantly with other cardiac surgical procedures and also as stand-alone procedures either via sternotomy or via videothoracoscopic techniques. The aim of this document is to bring together all major guidelines in this area into one resource for clinicians interested in surgery for AF. Where we felt that guidance was lacking, we also reviewed the evidence and provided summaries in those areas. We conclude that AF surgery is an effective intervention for patients with all types of AF undergoing concomitant cardiac surgery to reduce the incidence of AF, as demonstrated in multiple randomized studies. There is some evidence that this translates into reduced stroke risk, reduced heart failure risk and longer survival. In addition, symptomatic patients with AF may be considered for surgery after failed catheter intervention or even as an alternative to catheter intervention where either catheter ablation is contraindicated or by patient choice.