Info on new MAZE technique

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Posted by Dave Fundeburg on November 25, 2001 at 14:45:53:

NEW: Maze Pen

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is one of nine centers in the United States to evaluate
an experimental surgical "pen" for the treatment of the most common cardiac rhythm disorder, atrial fibrillation. UPMC is the second center in the
United States to perform surgery using the Medtronic Cardioblate(TM) RF Surgical Ablation System, a device that allows surgeons to "draw" lines on
the heart's upper chambers, essentially creating a maze that blocks the irregular rhythms. To date, UPMC surgeons have performed the surgery in
three patients. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an abnormal heart rhythm originating in the right and left atria. Rapid and chaotic beats, independent of the
ventricles, cause patients to experience palpitations, dizziness, fatigue, chest discomfort and/or shortness of breath. Such inefficient pumping in
the atria can cause blood flow to be sluggish, increasing the likelihood that clots will form that result in stroke. AF affects more than 5.5 million
worldwide. Its prevalence increases with age -- almost 70 percent with AF are between 65 and 85 years of age. More than a third of those
affected are considered to have "chronic" AF and have failed medical treatments that include drugs and cardioversion techniques designed to
restore normal rhythm. The Cardioblate pen was designed to simplify an otherwise complicated and tedious surgical procedure to treat AF. While
highly effective, few surgeons perform the surgery, called the Maze, because of its complexity; the surgery involves making more than 34 incisions
on the inside surface of the atria and suturing these incisions to create a "maze" that interrupts the pathways of erratic electrical impulses. Using
the Cardioblate pen, which at its tip delivers a cool irrigation fluid and radiofrequency energy, surgeons can "draw" lines, creating deep lesions or
scars, instead of making incisions. "With this device we think we can achieve the same effect as with the traditional Maze procedure. And without
the tedious cutting and sewing, the pen allows us to draw the same sort of pattern, but in less than 15 minutes. Importantly, as with the
traditional Maze operation, the surgeon has access to the left atria, where most of the irregular impulses originate. Outpatient ablation techniques
can only address problems in the right atrium," said Marco A. Zenati, M.D., assistant professor of surgery, division of cardiothoracic surgery,
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and principal investigator for the Pittsburgh study. Dr. Zenati is among only 10 or so surgeons in the
United States trained to perform the modified Maze with the Cardioblate pen. Currently, use of the device is limited to those who meet criteria for
entry into the study as well as to those who require cardiac surgery to correct another heart problem besides AF. Medtronic expects data of the
U.S. study, as well as data collected in Europe, to lead to approval of the device by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) early next year.
Approval would mean the device would be indicated for patients with AF. "FDA approval will allow us to treat patients with AF as their only heart
problem. It will also allow us to further develop the procedure to be done minimally invasively as well as on a beating heart, without the use of a
heart/lung machine," said Dr. Zenati, who is working with Medtronic to develop the next generation of technology. "To be able to offer a surgical
treatment for patients adds to our armamentarium of options for this complicated yet common cardiac problem," said David Schwartzman, M.D.,
associate professor of medicine, Cardiovascular Institute, and director of the UPMC Health System's Atrial Arrhythmia Center. Dr. Zenati is the
center's co-director. UPMC's Atrial Arrhythmia Center is the only center in which a cardiologist and a cardiac surgeon work collaboratively to
individualize and combine therapeutic strategies for all types of atrial arrhythmias, including AF. In addition, it is the only center in the region that
uses radiofrequency catheter ablation, an outpatient procedure, to treat AF as well as the only one to implant a pacemaker-like device specifically
designed to treat AF. UPMC has the world's largest experience implanting this device. The Pittsburgh site includes both UPMC Presbyterian and the
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System in Oakland. For more information about the Pittsburgh site of the study, please call Anita Kalchthaler, R.N., (412)
383-7253. CONTACT: Lisa Rossi Frank Raczkiewicz PHONE: (412) 647-3555 FAX: (412) 624-3184 E-MAIL: RossiL@msx.upmc.edu
RaczkiewiczFA@msx.upmc.edu MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X87782306 SOURCE University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center CO: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center ST: Pennsylvania IN: MTC HEA SU: PDT 11/19/2001 11:51 EST
http://www.prnewswire.com


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