The program is specifically for patients who experience longstanding persistent atrial fibrillation — a group that is often medically underserved, David Spurlock, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon at AdventHealth Orlando stated in the release.
AdventHealth patients with the condition can now elect to undergo a minimally invasive procedure that uses cameras to guide where incisions should be made on the outside of the heart, rather than fully opening the chest to perform the procedure.
A second procedure is performed later and uses leg veins as a pathway to the heart where surgeons can cauterize necessary areas of the organ. Overall, the two-part procedure leaves an incision of just 2 centimeters and only a one- or two-night stay in the hospital, according to the release.
“By having both procedures done, one outside the heart and the other inside, it increases the patient’s chance of being able to maintain normal rhythm long term,” Mahmoud Altawil, MD, an electrophysiologist at AdventHealth Orlando stated in the release.
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