Surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation.

Surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is currently performed in many major hospitals throughout the world. This paper reviews the development of surgical procedures for AF ablation. It is hoped that the paper can provide a foundation for those involved with ablation of AF to improve patient care. AF is triggered by a rapidly firing focus and could be treated with a localized ablation procedure. A large body of literature has confirmed the safety and efficacy of surgical ablation of AF. New ablation technologies have simplified the surgical treatment of AF and expanded the indications. Generally, more extensive lesion sets have had better long-term outcomes. Despite the tremendous progress that has been made in the development of surgical ablation of AF, many questions remain unanswered. It is anticipated that well designed clinical trials will continue to provide solid evidence to help formulate practice guidelines in the future.