Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
Elective Maze surgery is usually scheduled in advance. After arriving at the hospital, an intravenous (IV) catheter will be placed in the arm to deliver medications and fluids. General anesthesia is administered to put the patient to sleep.
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most cases, a traditional incision is made down the center of the patient's chest, cuts through the breastbone (sternum), and the rib cage is retracted open to expose the heart. The patient is connected to a heart-lung bypass machine, also called a cardiopulmonary bypass pump, which takes over for the heart and lungs during the surgery. The heart-lung machine removes carbon dioxide from the blood and replaces it with oxygen. A tube is inserted into the aorta to carry the oxygenated blood from the bypass machine to the aorta for circulation to the body. The heart-lung machine allows the heart's beating to be stopped so the surgeon can operate on a still heart.
Some patients may be candidates for off-pump surgery, in which the surgery is performed without the use of a heart-lung bypass machine. This is also called beating heart surgery.
The Maze surgery may be an option for some patients. The minimally invasive technique enables the surgeon to work on the heart through small chest holes called ports and other small incisions. Advantages of minimally invasive surgery over the traditional method include smaller incisions, a shorter hospital stay, a shorter recovery period, and lower costs.
During the procedure, precise incisions, also called lesions, are made in the right and left atria to isolate and stop the unusual electrical impulses from forming. The incisions form a maze through which the impulses can travel in one direction from the top of the heart to the bottom. When the heart heals, scar tissue forms and the abnormal electrical impulses can no longer travel through the heart.
These energy sources may be used during the procedure:
- Radiofrequency: A radiofrequency energy catheter is used to create the incisions or lesions in the heart.
- Microwave: A wand-like catheter is used to direct microwave energy to create the lesions in the heart.
- Cryothermy (also called cryoablation): Very cold temperatures are transmitted through a probe (cryoprobe) to create the lesions.
When these energy sources are used, the procedure is called surgical pulmonary vein isolation.
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Atrial fibrillation is disease caused when electrical tissues in the atrium of the heart fire inappropriately and cause ineffective and chaotic heart contraction. This narrated animation shows one surgical treatment for atrial fibrillation called the mini-maze procedure. The mini-maze procedure lesions part of the heart to break the "circuit" of improper electrical firing in the heart.
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Other Information
Definition
The Maze procedure, also known as the Cox-Maze procedure, is a surgical treatment for chronic atrial fibrillation. The procedure restores the heart's normal rhythm by surgically interrupting the conduction of abnormal impulses.
Purpose
When the heart beats too fast, blood no longer circulates effectively in the body. The Maze procedure is used to stop this abnormal beating so that the heart can begin its normal rhythm and pump more efficiently. The procedure is also intended to control heart rate and prevent blood clots and strokes.
From http://www.answers.com/topic/maze-procedure-for-atrial-fibrillation
Other Information
In the United States, 74.2 percent of heart transplantation patients are male, 68.4 percent are white, 24.7 percent are younger than age 35, 20.0 percent are ages 35–49, and 55.3 percent are age 50 or older.
From: American Heart Association
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