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Cardiac Ablation

Also called: Surgical Ablation, Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation, AV Node Ablation, Catheter Ablation

- Summary
- About ablation
- Before the procedure
- During the procedure
- After the procedure
- Potential risks
- About surgical ablation
- Questions for your doctor

Reviewed By:
Abdou Elhendy, MD, PhD, FACC, FAHA
 Suneet Mittal, M.D., FACC

About surgical ablation

While catheter-based techniques are relatively safe and effective for many types of arrhythmias, there are occasions when surgery is necessary. One of the following surgical ablations may be recommended:
  • Maze-like procedure. This is open-heart surgery to correct severe symptoms of atrial fibrillation that do not respond to various forms of treatment, including medications, cardioversion and catheter ablation. Small cuts are made in the heart to create a new pathway through which electrical signals can travel. The Maze procedure itself is not considered a type of surgical ablation. However, surgeons are using a Maze-like approach. Instead of tiny incisions in the atria (the upper chambers of the heart), ablations are made to either the epicardium (thin membrane surrounding the heart) or endocardium (thin membrane lining the inside of the heart).
  • Endocardial resection. Also used to treat ventricular tachycardias, endocardial resection involves the partial removal of one layer of the heart endocardium.
Research into ablation as a treatment for heart rhythm disorders is ongoing. Recent findings include the following:
  • Radiofrequency ablation carries its highest success rate when performed early in the disease process, before transient AF progresses to the more chronic form.

  • Temperature-controlled catheter ablation has had the highest success rate in treating AV junction tachycardia.

  • New mapping techniques promise to make the procedure more precise, expanding it to additional arrhythmias.

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Review Date: 03-15-2007

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