The Electrocautery Maze – How I Do It

Abstract

Background: The Cox Maze III procedure is the standard operation for the surgical cure of atrial fibrillation. Its wide spread use is limited by the extensive nature of the procedure. The surgical diathermy device is a radio frequency generator and can be used to create surgical lesions, which cause interruption of the basic flutter cycle that initiates/maintains atrial fibrillation.
Methods: We describe the initial results in 25 cases where we used an ordinary surgical diathermy unit to create bi-atrial lesions creating an electrocautery maze during concomitant mitral valve surgery.
Results: There was a 96% conversion to sinus rhythm. This has remained stable over a follow-up of a mean of 3.5 years. There has been an associated return of left atrial transport function and a significant reduction in left atrial size.
Conclusion: The electrocautery maze appears to be a simple, effective, and quick method to cure atrial fibrillation.