title: A hybrid procedure for atrial fibrillation using total thoracoscopic ablation and post-procedural electrophysiological confirmation of ablation lines.
abstract: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common chronic arrhythmia in the world, and it is associated with an increased long-term risk of stroke, heart failure, and all-cause mortality. To overcome the limitations of transvenous radiofrequency (RF) ablation for AF, total thoracoscopic ablation (TTA) has evolved as a new technique. TTA has several advantages over transvenous RF ablation and is known to produce better outcomes, especially in patients with persistent AF. Herein, we report 2 cases of successful TTA followed by an electrophysiological study confirming satisfactory ablation lines; the first such procedure reported in Korea.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Seop
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Jae-Han
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Pyo Won
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Young Tak
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seung-Jung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: June Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Young Keun
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: On
keywords: Ablation techniques; Atrial fibrillation