In 1987, Dr. James L. Cox performed the first maze procedure for surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation.1 Previous efforts at surgical correction were not uniformly successful, and some procedures corrected cardiac rhythm but did not restore synchronized atrial contraction. Cox’s maze procedure, performed with a precise pattern of incisions and suturing of the right and left atria, proved hig...

OBJECTIVE The indications for and the risk and benefit of concomitant surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) have not been fully delineated. Our aim was to survey whether the Cox-maze IV procedure is associated with postoperative heart failure (PHF) or other adverse short-term outcomes after mitral valve surgery (MVS). DESIGN Consecutive patients with AF undergoing MVS with (n = 50) o...

Although the majority of patients with atrial fibrillation and an indication for non-pharmacological therapy is treated with catheter ablation, thoracoscopic surgery is an emerging technique that aims at combining the results of the classic Cox Maze operation with a less invasive approach. Recurrences after thoracoscopic surgery have been mainly ascribed to incomplete ablation lines, but litera...

BACKGROUND We compared the mid-term results of the Cox maze IV procedure using argon-based cryoablation with a procedure using N2O-based cryoablation. METHODS From May 2006 to June 2012, 138 patients (mean age, 58.2±11.0 years) underwent the Cox maze IV procedure. Eighty-five patients underwent the maze procedure using an N2O-based cryoprobe (group N), and 53 patients underwent the maze proce...

OBJECTIVE Because reduction of the microtubule-associated protein Tau has beneficial effects in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy, we wanted to determine whether this strategy can also improve the outcome of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS We adapted a mild frontal impact model of TBI for wildtype C57Bl/6J mice and characterized the behavioral deficits it causes in t...

OBJECTIVE The Cox maze procedure was introduced in 1987 for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. This study evaluated the predictors of late atrial fibrillation recurrence in 276 consecutive patients who underwent this procedure at our institution. METHODS From 1987 through June 2003, 276 patients (79 female and 197 male patients; mean age, 55 +/- 11 years) underwent the Cox maze procedure. ...

The evolution of effective and broadly applicable strategies for percutaneous ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) has followed a complex course over the past decade. In 1994, Swartz et al. (1) reported successful percutaneous ablation of AF with multiple long linear lesions. Conceived as a replication of the surgical MAZE, the procedure deployed specifically tailored long sheaths to facilitate...

Although atrial fibrillation (AF) represents the most common arrhythmia that is seen in every day cardiology practice, the surgeons, and not the cardiologists, were the first to take the initiative for its radical cure. Cox and colleagues developed the Maze procedure and its modifications in the 80s followed by the pioneering attempt of Swartz et al. to ablate the arrhythmia in the electrophysi...

Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia and is associated with significant risks of thromboembolism, stroke, congestive heart failure, and death. There have been major advances in the management of atrial fibrillation including pharmacologic therapies, antithrombotic therapies, and ablation techniques. Surgery for atrial fibrillation, including both concomitant and stand-alo...

OBJECTIVES Traditional Cox maze III is the gold standard for treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). Because of its invasiveness, it has been replaced by a simplified procedure involving radiofrequency ablation of modified Cox maze IV. Although the modified Cox maze IV has the advantages of simplicity and less morbidity, a lower rate of sinus rhythm conversion has been reported. We try to establ...