ABSTRACT
We followed 25 patients operated on for Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome between august 1985 and octuber 1989. Their mean age was 37 ñ 12 years and arrhythmia had been present for 5 to 30 years. A mean of 3.3 ñ 1.2 years antiarrhytmic agents had failed in controlling rrecurrences. Tachycardia was orthodromic in 21 patients and antidromic in 1, while 3 patients presented rapid atrial fibrillation with hemodynamic deterioration. Drug refractoriness (n = 23) or intolerance (n = 2) were the main surgical indications. The location of accessory pathways was lateral in 19 patients, anteroseptal in 3, posteroseptal in 2, postero lateral in 1 and right lateral in 1 patient. One patient hada a double pathway. There was no surgical mortality. After a follow-up period ranging from 1 to 50 months reccurence of arrythmia was observed in one patient and electrophysiologic evaluation showed persistance of a left lateral pathway in another. The remaining 24 patients are free of symptoms at the end of follow up. Thus, surgical treatment is a curative therapy for most patients with WPW