title: Lateral placement of bipolar clamp facilitates pulmonary vein isolation.
abstract: The surgical management of atrial fibrillation is becoming more commonplace with the procedure of pulmonary vein isolation forming the cornerstone of the treatment of atrial fibrillation. In this article a technique is described to introduce a dry bipolar radiofrequency clamp into the chest through a lateral port sized incision to safely effect pulmonary vein isolation in patients with low ejection fractions undergoing a concomitant mini-maze procedure. Confirmation of the transmurality and effectiveness of the lines of ablation is shown by the demonstration of bidirectional block to and from the pulmonary veins.
authors: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267, USA. william.schneeberger@uc.edu
authors: Eric W
authors: EW
authors: Schneeberger
authors: Robert M
authors: RM
authors: Osterday
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000379:methods; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality; D011667:Pulmonary Veins / Q000601:surgery*; D011859:Radiography; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013525:Surgical Instruments; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome