Claudio Tondo (Centro Cardiologico Monzio, Milan) discusses the benefits of hybrid ablation compared to the currently approved ablation methods in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. The hybrid ablation approach involves a combination of surgery with electrophysiological cathater ablation. It provides a beneficial for the treatment of patients with long-lasting and persistent atrial fibrillation. One advantage is the combining of expertise from both a surgeon and electrophysiologist within the same procedure. This gives the option to perform two ablations (endocardial and epicardial ablation) within the same surgery, which may increase the success rate in the long run. The abilty of the surgeon and electrophysiologist to review the outcome in real-time improves the efficacy and outcome of the procedure, as shown by robust data in the literature.
Patients with unsuccessful previous ablation procedures and patients with long-lasting persistent atrial fibrillation (over 1 year) are good candidates for the procedure.
Filmed at EHRA 2018, Barcelona.
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Questions:
1. What are the benefits of a hybrid ablation approach compared with other currently approved ablation methods? 0:07
2. Please describe the key efficacy and safety evidence supporting the use of hybrid ablation? 1:04
3. How do the atrial fibrillation recurrence rates compare with other approaches? 2:06
4. Are there certain patients who are more suitable for hybrid ablation? 3:05
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