Ablation surgery for atrial fibrillation: "freeze it or buzz it; just do it and cure it".
Patients in normal sinus rhythm have lesser stroke rate, better functional class and quality of life than those in atrial fibrillation. Adding a surgical procedure to cure atrial fibrillation in patients needing correction of structural heart disease has been shown to be a safe option, which benefits the majority in restoration of sinus rhythm. Age is no bar to implement this option. The same does not hold true for lone atrial fibrillation. The affirm trial has shown that there is need for improved treatment strategies for patients in atrial fibrillation, although young patients were not represented in sizable proportion. There is need to develop curative treatment for patients with lone atrial fibrillation. And there are technological advances in the form of ablative energy sources and hardware for applying these with minimal invasion. "Between tomorrow's dream and yesterday's regret is today's opportunity". Let's make the best of it!
Patwardhan
A M
AM
Dept. of Cardio-Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, Seth G.S. Medical College and K.E.M. Hospital, Parel, Mumbai - 400 012, India. anil.patwardhan@gmail.com