Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Undergoing Bioprosthetic Valve Replacement / 대한흉부외과학회지

BACKGROUND: Scarce data have been reported on the efficacy of concomitant atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in patients undergoing bioprosthetic valve replacement. METHODS: From 2001 and 2014, 146 consecutive patients (69.3±9.4 years, 84 females) who underwent bioprosthetic heart valve replacement concomitant with AF ablation were assessed. We evaluated long-term rhythm and valve-related outcomes. RESULTS: During 49.1 months of follow-up (interquartile range, 22.5–96.8 months), 7 in-hospital and 49 (6.7% per person-year) post-discharge deaths occurred. The thromboembolic event-free survival rate at 5 years was 79.2%±3.5%. The freedom from AF recurrence rate at 5 years was 59.8%±4.9%. Multivariate analysis showed that old age (hazard ratio [HR], 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02–1.11; p=0.002), previous cardiac operation (HR, 3.01; 95% CI, 1.22–7.43; p=0.02), and a large left atrial (LA) dimension (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.00–1.05; p=0.045) were significantly associated with AF recurrence. CONCLUSION: The overall long-term clinical outcomes in these predominantly elderly patients undergoing AF ablation concomitantly with bioprosthetic valve replacement were satisfactory; however, AF recurrence was frequent. Older age, a history of prior cardiac surgery, and large LA size were associated with an increased risk of AF recurrence.

Hybrid minimally invasive surgical and transcatheter ablation for long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation / 中华胸心血管外科杂志

Objective To explore the application and effectiveness of one-staged or two-staged hybrid minimally invasive surgical and transcatheter ablation for long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation(LSPAF).Methods From Jun 2015 to Dec 2017,a cohort of 56 patients[18 female,mean age of(59.1 ±6.9) years] with long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation underwent one-staged(30 cases) or two-staged(26 cases) hybrid minimally invasive surgical and transcatheter ablation.Mean AF duration was(5.9 ± 3.0) years.Mean left atrial diameter was(45.4 ± 4.2) mm.Mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 2.3 ± 1.2.Fourteen cases had a history of prior catheter ablation.All patients underwent continuous 24-hour or 48-hour holter monitoring at 3 months,6 months,1 year and yearly thereafter.Results All patients successfully underwent one-staged or two-staged hybrid minimally invasive surgical and transcatheter ablation.During ablation,LSPAF was terminated in 80.0％ (24/30) with one-staged hybrid ablation and 84.6％ (22/26) with two-staged hybrid ablation.At a mean follow-up of(20.3 ± 8.2) months,89.3％ (50/56) patients maintained sinus rhythm.Among them,86.7％ (26/30) patients with one-staged hybrid ablation maintained sinus rhythm,and 92.3％ (50/56) patients with two-staged hybrid ablation maintained sinus rhythm.Six patients with recurrent AF continued to receive warfarin and amiodarone drug therapy.No death or cerebrovascular events occurred.No patient required permanent pacemaker implantation.Conclusion One-staged or two-staged hybrid minimally invasive surgical and transcatheter ablation could be safely and effectively applied to the treatment of LSPAF.The early and midterm outcomes were satisfactory.

Single center experience and approach evolution of multidisciplinary therapy for atrial fibrillation / 中国胸心血管外科临床杂志

@#Objective To investigate the preliminary experience, the evolution of surgical approach of multidisciplinary therapy for atrial fibrillation and the advantages and disadvantages of each procedure. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 69 patients with stand-alone surgical ablation with or without transcatheter radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation in our center from January 2015 to May 2017. There were 50 males and 19 females at average age of 57.2 years. The patients were divided into three groups according to the surgical approach including a median sternotomy group (n=9), a left unilateral thoracoscopy group (n=7) and a bilateral thoracoscopy group (n=53). One (11.1%) patient, 3 (42.9%) patients and 26 (49.1%) patients received transcatheter mapping and radiofrequency ablation after surgical ablation in each group, respectively. Results The mean follow-up time in the median sternotomy group was 10.2 months. All 9 patients maintained sinus rhythm. The mean follow-up time of the left unilateral thoracoscopy group was 7.4 months. Five (71.4%) patients maintained sinus rhythm. While the mean follow-up time of the bilateral thoracoscopy group was 5.0 months. Forty-seven (88.7%) patients maintained sinus rhythm. There was no perioperative death, or death, stroke, major bleeding nor pulmonary vein stenosis during follow-up. Conclusion The classic Cox-Maze Ⅳ procedure with high success rate is still the basic operation for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation, while the thoracoscopic mini maze procedure has the advantages of minimally invasiveness, repeatibility, and can achieve similar results as Cox-Maze Ⅳ procedure when combined with transcatheter radiofrequency ablation. Multidisciplinary therapy could be the best solution for non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

2018 Korean Guidelines for Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: Part I

Catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) have evolved from investigational procedures to their current role as effective treatment options for patients with AF. Surgical ablation of AF is available in most major hospitals throughout the world. Catheter ablation of AF is even more widely available, and is now the most commonly performed catheter ablation procedure. Management of patients with AF has traditionally consisted of three main components: (1) anticoagulation for stroke prevention; (2) rate control; and (3) rhythm control. With the emergence of large amounts of data, which have both defined and called attention to the interaction between modifiable risk factors and the development of AF and outcomes of AF management, we believe it is time to include risk factor modification as the fourth pillar of AF management. Catheter and surgical ablation of AF are highly complex procedures, therefore a decision to perform catheter or surgical AF ablation should only be made after a patient carefully considers the risks, benefits, and alternatives to the procedure.

2018 Korean Guidelines for Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation: Part III

Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most complex interventional electrophysiological procedures. The success of AF ablation is based in large part on freedom from AF recurrence based on electrocardiography (ECG) monitoring. Arrhythmia monitoring can be performed with the use of noncontinuous or continuous ECG monitoring tools. AF ablation is an invasive procedure that entails risks, most of which are present during the acute procedural period. However, complications can also occur in the weeks or months following ablation. Recognizing common symptoms after AF ablation and distinguishing those that require urgent evaluation and referral to an electrophysiologist is an important part of follow-up after AF ablation. This section reviews the complications associated with catheter ablation procedures performed to treat AF. The types and incidence of complications are presented, their mechanisms are explored, and the optimal approach to prevention and treatment is discussed. Finally, surgical and hybrid AF ablation technology and the indications for concomitant open or closed surgical ablation of AF, stand-alone and hybrid surgical ablation of AF are covered in this section.

Mid and long-term outcomes of catheter ablation of recurrent atrial tachycardias post Mini-Maze surgery / 中国介入心脏病学杂志

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics and follow-up data of catheter ablation of recurrent atrial tachycardias (ATs) after Mini-Maze surgery,and to explore prognostic factors for recurrence.Methods 59 patients in Guangdong General Hospital with ATs post Mini-Maze and concomitant open-heart surgery from April.2010 to June.2015 were included.According to high density precise mapping,activation mapping,voltage mapping and entrainment mapping,they underwent electrophysiological study and ablation which was guided by three-dimensional mapping system.All patients were followed up regularly.We explored the prognostic factors for recurrence by the Cox regression analysis.Results There were 88 types of ATs being mappedwith mean (1.49 ± 0.75) types of ATs identified per case.Most ATs were macro-reentry ATs(67/88,76.1％)and focal ATs (20/88,22.7％),respectively.56 patients (94.9％) achieved immediate ablation success.In a mean follow-up of (30.8 ± 17.7) months,recurrences were observed in 12 patients after the first time catheter ablation.Recurrent time was 3.5 (1.3,12.0) months and the overall ablation success rate was 74.6％ (44/59).6 patients received second ablation and the achievement of freedom from arrhythmias reached 79.7％ (47/59).Multivariate analysis showed that the LA diameter was the independent predictor for recurrence (HR 1.108,95％ CI 1.002 to 1.226,P =0.045).Conclusion Catheter ablation of ATs post Mini-Maze with concomitant surgery is save and feasible.LA diameter is the independent predictor for recurrence.

Progression of Retinal Angiomatous Proliferation after Surgical Ablation

PURPOSE: To describe the clinical course of three eyes of three patients that underwent surgical ablation as treatment of retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP). METHODS: Surgical lysis of the retinal feeding arteriole and draining venule was done in two eyes that had stage 2 RAP with serous pigment epithelial detachment (PED). It was done as the first treatment modality in one eye, and after failure of laser photocoagulation in the other. It was also performed in another eye presumed to have very early stage RAP that showed only retinal-retinal anastomosis without any definite intraretinal or subretinal angiomatous lesion. RESULTS: PED decreased within 1 month after ablation in the two eyes with stage 2 RAP, but new anastomoses eventually developed after 1 month, followed by progression of the lesions. In the eye with presumed early stage RAP, successful lysis of retinal-retinal anastomosis was maintained and initially showed no signs of further proliferation at the original lesion site; however, four months later, hemorrhagic PED developed distally and progressed further to retinal pigment epithelial tear and massive subretinal hemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical ablation may be unable to halt the progressive nature of neovascular proliferations in RAP.

The Characteristics of Patients and Recurrence Patterns in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Radio-frequency Ablation / 한국간담췌외과학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The purpose of our study was to describe the characteristics of patients and recurrence patterns in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with radio-frequency ablation (RFA). Those were expected little different in some aspects from that in patients treated with surgical ablation (SA). METHODS: One hundred and twenty-five patients with HCC underwent RFA (Thermal Ablation, TA) between March 1, 1998 and May 31, 2001. Out of these, fifty-seven patients who were amenable to TA as a primary treatment, because of various reasons, were enrolled. Forty-eight patients were underwent SA due to HCC during the same period of time. RESULTS: The patients in the TA group exhibited more frequent ascites (p15 ng/ml) in the patients of TA was significantly higher than that of SA.

Anesthetic Management for Surgical Ablation of Accessory Conduction Pathways / 대한마취과학회지

The Wolff-Parkinson-White (W-P-W) syndrome and variants are called the pre-excitation sydrome. The prevalence has been estimated 0.15 pereent. Advances in electrophysiological mapping and increasing sophistication of surgical techniques have been resulted in an increasing role for definitive surgical treatment. The anesthetic management of patients with this syndrome is aimed at avoiding tachyarrhythmias. Anesthesia for surgical ablation of accessory conducting pathways was successfully performed under general balanced technique with fentantyl, vecuronium, isoflurane which were avoid of sympathetic stimulation.