TY - JOUR T1 - The Maze procedure: surgical therapy for refractory atrial fibrillation JF - Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine JO - Cleve Clin J Med SP - 161 LP - 165 VL - 60 IS - 2 AU - Patrick M. McCarthy AU - Lon W. Castle AU - Richard G. Trohman AU - Tony W. Simmons AU - James D. Maloney AU - Allan L. Klein AU - Richard D. White AU - James L. Cox Y1 - 1993/03/01 UR - http://www.ccjm.org/content/60/2/161.abstract N2 - Although atrial fibrillation is well tolerated by most patients, in some patients the consequences may be severe. The Maze procedure is a new open-heart operation that creates a carefully designed maze of incisions in the atrial myocardium; this maze then acts as an electrical conduit to channel atrial impulses from the sinoatrial node to the atrioventricular node. The Maze procedure has been shown to restore sinus rhythm and atrial systole (thus reducing the risk of thromboembolism), improve hemodynamics, alleviate palpitations, and eliminate the need for antiarrhythmic and anticoagulant drugs. We describe our first patient to undergo this operation. ER -