Posted by John W. Gross on September 24, 2001 at 12:50:30:
In Reply to: posted by Tim on September 23, 2001 at 07:59:29:
Before my MAZE in Sept.'99 I had this same question. I talked over the phone with several people who had the MAZE (all Dr. Cox's patients). The longest had the MAZE procedure done six years previous. None had a return of A-Fib.
My surgeon Dr. Duncan at the Texas Heart Instiute in Houston, TX had done several Maze operations dating back six or seven years. All his patients were still A-Fib free.
It seems that if the Maze procedure works for a patient it is very unlikely there will be a return of A-Fib. That does not mean you will be guaranteed of no future heart problems. Some people have other conditions along with A-Fib. The Maze surgery will only cure A-Fib, in the majority of the cases. John W. Gross