title: [Surgical topics in the management of cardiac arrhythmia, focusing on atrial fibrillation].
abstract: Among cardiac arrhythmias, surgical treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF) has developed the most in recent years. Instead of the cut-and-saw method in the Cox-Maze procedure, which had been the gold standard for AF surgery, surgical ablation systems using various energy source and devices have been utilized to facilitate rapid, safe creation of lines of conduction block under direct view. The challenge of establishing a minimally invasive off-pump surgical ablation procedure via the thracoscopic approach continues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Funatsu
authors.forename: Junjiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans