Totsugawa Toshinori, Kuinose Masahiko, Yoshitaka Hidenori, Tsushima Yoshimasa, Ishida Atsuhisa
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Sakakibara Heart Institute of Okayama, 2-1-10 Marunouchi, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-0823, Japan.
Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2011 Apr;59(4):307-9. doi: 10.1007/s11748-010-0595-x. Epub 2011 Apr 12.
Combination of off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting and epicardial pulmonary vein (PV) isolation is a less-invasive option to treat atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease simultaneously. However, the exposure and clamping of the left PV on a beating heart are technically challenging. We here demonstrate technical tips to perform off-pump concomitant epicardial PV isolation easily using a tape through the transverse pericardial sinus.