Radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation: different approaches.

The existing literature regarding radiofrequency ablation for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation was reviewed, analyzing the early and late results. A MEDLINE search supplemented with a manual bibliographic review was performed for all peer-reviewed English language articles regarding the use of radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Six studies were identified, with a total of 451 patients. None of the studies was completely randomized. All patients underwent radiofrequency ablation as an adjunct to a variety of cardiac surgical procedures. The hospital mortality rate was 2.7%. The overall survival rate was 97.1%, and freedom from atrial fibrillation was 76.3% +/- 5.1% after a mean follow-up period of 13.8 +/- 1.9 months. It was concluded that radiofrequency ablation should be considered a safe and effective means to cure atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing open heart surgery.