Posted by Carl Plaskett on July 18, 2004 at 12:27:29:
In Reply to: Re: Closed Chest Minimally Invasive MAZE Update. posted by Joel Smolen on July 18, 2004 at 08:26:34:
Joel: Three of the surgeons in this very large group are customers of mine who all were aware of my Maze surgery at the Cleveland Clinic back in January,2001, and are aware of my complete (so far) success. I was in one of their homes in May, and the subject of them doing the "Maze procedure" never came up, even though we talked about my continued success.
The doctors in this group are using Microwave ablation catheters to create the "maze lines"; and while the procedure is being done with no heart/lung machine, there are still the risks of stenosis/stroke inherent to ablations. Calling it a "Maze procedure" I guess is technically correct, but I'm not sure they can address all of the "problem" areas in a single ablation session (witness Angie's post) and have the 98% success rate of the Cox Maze III enjoyed by former Lone Atrial Fib sufferers who have had the traditional or modified surgical maze. I hope they are able to soon match the success/lack of complications rate of the "gold standard" Cox Maze III.
As an aside:Dr. Cox is still working with St. Jude Medical, which bought Epicor, the company which developed an ultrasound device for performing the Maze with even smaller incisions. I'm sure that should we EVER get the "Former Afibbers/Maze Alumni" meeting scheduled, Dr. Cox will be there to explain how that is progressing. Dr. Cox is now working on getting some sponsorship for such a gettogether, since others kind of dropped the ball back in the Spring.This group of Florida doctors (multiple towns) does several procedures with the microwave "tips" and I suspect the "2500" procedures includes all of them, including the many done to repair infant hearts at All Children's and Tampa Children's Hospitals.
I may just try to go to this seminar to hear what they are doing, and try to get some direct answers as to what they consider "success" and the percentage of complications and need for subsequent or "touch-up" procedures. If you would like to attend, give me a call and perhaps we can get some dinner before/after, since my wife will be visiting friends in Seattle, and I will be eating alone.