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REVIEW PAPER |
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
For reprint information contact: Bruno Chiappini, MD Tel: 39 347 514 7032 Fax: 39 051 345 990 Email: bruno_chiappini{at}hotmail.com Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Via Massarenti 9 40138, Bologna, Italy.
The existing literature regarding radiofrequency ablation for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation was reviewed, analyzing the early and late results. A MEDLINE search supplemented with a manual bibliographic review was performed for all peer-reviewed English language articles regarding the use of radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Six studies were identified, with a total of 451 patients. None of the studies was completely randomized. All patients underwent radiofrequency ablation as an adjunct to a variety of cardiac surgical procedures. The hospital mortality rate was 2.7%. The overall survival rate was 97.1%, and freedom from atrial fibrillation was 76.3% ± 5.1% after a mean follow-up period of 13.8 ± 1.9 months. It was concluded that radiofrequency ablation should be considered a safe and effective means to cure atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing open heart surgery.
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