You might be a candidate for a hybrid procedure if:

• You have longstanding atrial fibrillation.
• Your heart’s chambers are too large for standard ablation.
• You had an unsuccessful catheter ablation procedure.
• Medications or other treatments haven’t managed AFib for you.

Hybrid ablation combines two treatment options – catheter-based care and minimally invasive surgery – into a single procedure.

This means that people who have the hybrid procedure only undergo anesthesia once. Hybrid ablation also has just one hospitalization and one recovery. As a result, you can get back to work, family, friends and recreation sooner.

Here is what to expect from the hybrid ablation procedure:

• On the day of surgery, we’ll put you to sleep (using general anesthesia) and bring you to the hybrid operating room. This is an electrophysiology (EP) room equipped for sophisticated, computer-supported procedures as well as open surgery.
• Before and after ablation, we map the left atrium (upper chamber) of the heart. Using a specialized catheter, we collect voltage signals from 400-500 points in the atrium. This way, we gain insights into how the Afib is occurring, and we will know if we’ve successfully blocked specific areas.
• The heart surgeon creates a small incision in the upper abdomen. Working laparoscopically (using small tools inserted through a small incision), the surgeon performs voltage mapping and then ablates (creates scar tissue) on the outside of the heart.
• An electrophysiologist then uses a catheter and 3-D mapping to ablate the inside of the heart.
• Together, these ablations create scar tissue that blocks the damaged electrical pathways that are causing the irregular heartbeat.
• People stay in the hospital for two to three days after the procedure. They can usually go back to work in five to seven days.