Posted by Steve Giddings on August 01, 2001 at 12:43:08:
In Reply to: Chronic Lone Atrial Fibrillation and the MAZE Rate of Success posted by Osman M. Nasar on August 01, 2001 at 04:23:46:
I had the Maze, "minimally invasive" done Jan 7, 1999 by James Cox, MD at the Georgetown Medical Center. I opted for the right chest approacgh because the post op recovery time is supposed to be a bit shorter. From my conversations with others and my own experience, the right chest approach actually hurts more post op because they spread ribs apart, and that causes a fair amount of muscle damage. The advantage is that there is not lifting restriction after surgery.
I am 5'11", weigh ~190 lb, 52 yr old and was in very good physical condition other than AF. I had no other health problems.
The surgery was pretty much uneventful except for a small pneumothorax (partial lung collapse) when they took out my chest tube. I had to stay in the hospital 12 days post op because my sinus node wouldn't kick in at rest, although it would if I got up and moved around. I entertained myself by trying to convince the housestaff and Dr. Cox that I would be just fine in a junctional rhythm, but they wouldn't turn me loose. Worst part of the whole experience. When I finally did get out, I walked around Georgetown reasonably comforatbly, going up and down hills for about 2 hours. Stayed a night in a hotel and flew holme the next day. It was a Thursday. I was back at work the following Monday. The folks in my office and lab probably would have preferred that I stayed at home. I did aerobic exercise and lifted weights to get my strength and endurance back. Strength took about 6 months, endurance, about two years total.
Problems post op-- couldn't sleep, still ahve some trouble.
The reason for not doing the minimally invasive procedure on large people, to my understanding, is simply a matter of the size of the instruments.
PACs are very common, and have no associated risks.