Argon Cryoablation For The Surgical Treatment Of Atrial Fibrillation - Early Experience And Short-Term Results

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) represents a disorder that increases the morbidity and mortality of patients undergoing heart surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate a method of surgical argon cryclablation (CA) for the treatment of AFMethods: A retrospective review was performed on 80 patients undergoing CA with concomitant cardiac operations from June 2004 to July 2006.Results: At discharge, 64 (80%) patients were free from AF, 61 (76.3%) were in normal SR, 2 (2.5%) had junction rhythm and 1 (1.2%) had atrial flutter. At early-A follow-up (3-6 months) 73.7% of patients were in SR. Atrial flutter was present in 6 (7.5%) patients. At late-B follow-up (9-12 months) 78.8% of patients had SR with the rest of the group remaining in AF Two (2.5%) patients required permanent pacemaker implantation due to atrioventricular 3rd degree block.Conclusion: This observational study documents the efficacy of CA for the treatment of AF.Argon cryoablation technique provides good short-term results with a very short learning curve.