title: Totally extracardiac Maze procedure performed on the beating heart.
abstract: The cut-and-sew Cox Maze III procedure is a complex operation. A novel vacuum-integrated radiofrequency ablation device was developed to attenuate the complexity. This device has enabled the development of a totally extracardiac Maze (Ex-Maze) procedure. We describe the Ex-Maze procedure, which closely mimics the gold standard Maze III pattern and includes lines of ablation that isolate the pulmonary veins, interconnect the left and right atria, and a line that extends from the right inferior pulmonary vein to the medial inferior vena cava.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Pinehurst Surgical Clinics, Pinehurst, North Carolina 28374, USA. akiser@pinehurstsurgical.com
authors.forename: Andy C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Kiser
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wimmer-Greinecker
authors.forename: W Randolph
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Chitwood
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans