Posted by Jack Drum on January 17, 2003 at 20:10:12:
In Reply to: Just a question posted by Deniss Artisskis on January 17, 2003 at 08:56:58:
Deniss you have gotten a pretty good selection of answers for some of the members but I wanted to add mine also.
When the maze was in the first few years of use, there was a few surgeons that would only perform it when you required surgery for some other heart problem.
In 1993 my EP, cardiologist recommended that I have the maze for my LAF, but I declined until April 1998, when I had the maze. I don't know of any surgeon now that would refuse to operate for LAF if the patient's condition seemed serious enough. I think that the qualifying threshold for the maze is basically when the patient thinks his condition is serious enough to himself, to ask for the surgery. The Maze surgery is not something that a person would consider, unless his quality of life was severely deteriorated, (as mine was), or he feared that continuing with AF would do further damage to his heart.I feel that the bottom line decision on maze is really a personal one. No surgeon would do it unless they felt it was warranted, and as some are now recommending the PVA treatment.
Best wishes and prayers.
Keep us updated on what you and your cardiologist decide on this.