Histologic findings of long-term cryolesions in a patient with ventricular tachycardia.

This report describes cardiac morphologic alterations in a patient who died 14 months following cryoablation. Histologic examination of the long-term cryolesion revealed a homogeneous fibrous scar with surrounding sinusoid capillary proliferation. The border between the fibrosis and the normal myocardium was sharply defined. Cryothermia is an excellent technique for the surgical correction of arrhythmias because it provides sharply demarcated lesions which lack arrhythmogenic potential.