title: From fisherman to fibrillation: an unbroken line of progress.
abstract: The modern era of cardiac arrhythmia surgery was initiated by Dr Will C. Sealy in May 1968, when he performed the first successful surgical division of an accessory pathway for the treatment of the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. During the subsequent 25 years, arrhythmia operations evolved through a series of innovative surgical procedures capable of curing essentially all refractory clinical arrhythmias. The lessons learned during the development of these surgical procedures ultimately led to the refinement and eventual success of less invasive catheter techniques that have now replaced most of these surgical techniques. The surgical experience gained during these years also made possible the current surgical procedure that is used to treat the most complex, and the most common, of all cardiac arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation. Few areas of any specialty are as clearly defined as the unbroken line of progress that extends from Dr Sealy's first procedure in 1968 to the successful surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation in 1994.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, MO 63110.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Boineau
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Schuessler
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Kater
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Lappas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial; D018579:Patient Selection; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome