What is Surgical Ablation for the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation?

Surgical ablation is when either heat or cold is used to create a set of precise lesions in the heart. Over time, the lesions form scar tissue and stop the reentry of the irregular electrical impulses that may cause atrial fibrillation (AF). When scar tissue formation is complete throughout the depth of the tissue, transmurality occurs, causing conduction block, or the blocking of erratic electrical signals. A successful procedure may eliminate the need for antiarrhythmic and anticoagulation medications.

Surgical AF ablation may be performed in either a concomitant open heart or minimally invasive procedure. Concomitant simply means the ablations are performed in conjunction with another procedure. Often, surgical ablation is performed with valve replacement/repair or a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedure.

Concomitant Products
Based on the science of over 200,000 ablations worldwide, AtriCure® has become a leader in surgical ablation by leveraging science and engineering to create optimal products.
Minimally Invasive Products
AtriCure® is dedicated to developing innovative products for surgeons in this ever-expanding field of minimally invasive surgical (MIS) AF ablation.
The AtriCure Solution
AtriCure is different from other device manufactures due to our Transpolar bipolar technology.
Energy Sources
Different energy sources are available for physicians to use in AF surgical procedures.  Educate yourself about the different sources.