Overview
Mayo Clinic is one of a few medical centers in the United States that performs the maze procedure, a highly complex surgical treatment option for atrial fibrillation. Mayo Clinic heart surgeons are highly skilled and have years of experience with this technique.
The maze procedure can cure atrial fibrillation by creating barriers to the electrical pathways, in the form of scar tissue, in the atria (the heart's upper chambers).
In the procedure, the surgeon creates multiple cuts into the atria muscle in an intricate pattern, or maze, and then stitches the incisions together to produce scars. Because the scars do not carry electrical signals, they interfere with stray electrical impulses that cause atrial fibrillation and, as a result, allow the heart to restore a regular, coordinated heartbeat.
Of Mayo Clinic patients who undergo the maze procedure for atrial fibrillation, 95 percent have no atrial fibrillation at discharge. But those who do not respond to the procedure may have more success with drug therapy afterward. Patients also benefit from Mayo's state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment capabilities for patients with heart arrhythmias.
New technology is making the maze procedure faster, safer and less invasive. Mayo Clinic is involved in the research and use of new methods for the maze procedure, including:
Cryotherapy
At Mayo Clinic, surgeons routinely use cryotherapy to reduce the extent of surgical incisions made with a scalpel. In cryotherapy, surgeons use a device to freeze heart tissue and create lesions on the atria. Electrical barriers can be created in 60 to 90 seconds, minimizing the time to perform the maze procedure.
Minimal Access Catheter Maze Procedure
Physicians use catheter radiofrequency ablation (atrial fibrillation ablation) to replicate the lines of scar tissue that are created with the open-heart maze procedure surgery.
Mayo Clinic is an international leader in catheter ablation and uses the most advanced technology to treat arrhythmias. Read more about atrial fibrillation ablation.
Advantages of the Maze Procedure
- Corrects atrial fibrillation; many patients require no further treatment
- Restores a regular, coordinated heartbeat
- For many patients, brings freedom from long-term use of blood-thinning medications
- Lowers risk of developing blood clots or strokes
- Decreases symptoms, such as fainting or near-fainting
Because the maze procedure requires open heart surgery, it is usually reserved for patients whose atrial fibrillation has not responded well to medication, whose symptoms interfere with their quality of life, and those at high risk for blood clots or stroke.
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