title: The value of caval division in the maze procedure with valve surgery.
abstract: Operative predictors for successful elimination of atrial fibrillation (AF) following the maze procedure are not yet known. We have often divided the superior vena cava (SVC) during the maze procedure, not to eliminate AF but in order to explore the mitral valve. However, in multivariate analysis of 79 patients, the division of SVC, as well as the duration of AF, was found to be the strongest predictor of AF elimination. The explanation of this observation is not clear, but denervation of the cardiac autonomic nervous system or the existence of paroxysmal AF originating from the SVC could be involved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan. smizutan@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mizutani
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Usui
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akita
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ueda
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000601:surgery*; D013504:Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014683:Vena Cava, Superior / Q000601:surgery*