When Is a Maze Procedure a Maze Procedure?

May 17, 2026 by drzezo in CARDIOLOGY Comments Off on When Is a Maze Procedure a Maze Procedure?

The Maze procedure was developed to preclude or interrupt the macro-reentrant drivers that sustain atrial fibrillation (AF). It was first performed clinically in 1987, some 11 years before Haïssaguerre showed…

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Current American and European Guidelines for Atrial Fibrillation Surgery

May 17, 2026 by drzezo in CARDIOLOGY Comments Off on Current American and European Guidelines for Atrial Fibrillation Surgery

Society clinical practice guidelines have significant potential to change clinical practice ( Fig. 24.1 ). They are authored by experts in the field and undergo a rigorous development and review…

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Rationale for Modification of the CryoMaze-III Procedure

May 17, 2026 by drzezo in CARDIOLOGY Comments Off on Rationale for Modification of the CryoMaze-III Procedure

Background Following years of preclinical research, the Cox-Maze procedure was first performed clinically in 1987 to ablate all types of atrial fibrillation (AF) and reduce the risk of stroke. ,…

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Importance of the Right Atrial Lesions in the Maze Procedure

May 17, 2026 by drzezo in CARDIOLOGY Comments Off on Importance of the Right Atrial Lesions in the Maze Procedure

The confusion among cardiac surgeons regarding whether or not to include the right atrial lesions of the Maze procedure for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) is understandable. Our literature…

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Robotic CryoMaze-III Procedure

May 17, 2026 by drzezo in CARDIOLOGY Comments Off on Robotic CryoMaze-III Procedure

Surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) received multi-society guideline recommendations in 2017 that have been updated in 2024 for concomitant (Class I) and stand-alone therapy (Class II). Despite increasing evidence…

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Downsizing the Left Atrium and Right Atrium

May 17, 2026 by drzezo in CARDIOLOGY Comments Off on Downsizing the Left Atrium and Right Atrium

There is a pathophysiological association between left atrial enlargement and atrial fibrillation (AF), with left atrial enlargement being both an inciting factor and one of the sequelae of AF. There…

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Atrial Fibrillation Surgery Prior to the Maze Procedure

May 17, 2026 by drzezo in CARDIOLOGY Comments Off on Atrial Fibrillation Surgery Prior to the Maze Procedure

As described in Chapter 9 , a number of lessons were learned from surgery for other arrhythmias that were critical to the development of surgery for atrial fibrillation (AF). The…

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Clinical Electrophysiology of Atrial Flutter and Atrial Fibrillation Pertinent to Interventional Therapy

May 17, 2026 by drzezo in CARDIOLOGY Comments Off on Clinical Electrophysiology of Atrial Flutter and Atrial Fibrillation Pertinent to Interventional Therapy

Background In 1912, Walter Garrey of Washington University in St. Louis published several of the basic concepts explaining why, 75 years later, the surgical Maze procedure was successful in ablating…

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The Basics of Myocardial Strain and Its Relationship to Atrial Fibrillation

May 17, 2026 by drzezo in CARDIOLOGY Comments Off on The Basics of Myocardial Strain and Its Relationship to Atrial Fibrillation

Evaluating myocardial contractile function by echocardiography has traditionally centered on volume-based assessments such as ejection fraction and regional evaluations of wall motion and visual estimation of regional thickening. However, these…

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Arrhythmia Surgery Prior to Atrial Fibrillation Surgery

May 17, 2026 by drzezo in CARDIOLOGY Comments Off on Arrhythmia Surgery Prior to Atrial Fibrillation Surgery

As mentioned in Chapter 1 , the first successful surgical procedure for a cardiac arrhythmia, the Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, was performed in 1968. The only new surgical procedure developed over…

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