The surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation is a complex disease affecting a significant portion of the general population. Although medical therapy is the mainstay of treatment, intervention plays an important role in selected patients. The Cox-Maze procedure is the gold standard for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation and has more than 90% success in eliminating atrial fibrillation. Ablation technologies have played a key role in simplifying this technically demanding procedure and making it available to more patients. A myriad of new lesion sets and approaches were introduced over the last decade which has made the operative treatment of atrial fibrillation less invasive and more confusing.