Page 87 - ADD-ON ABLATION SURGERY IN PATIENTS WITH ATRIAL FIBRILLATION

has not been explored yet and it will be the objective of ongoing clinical research studies.
Conclusions
The main findings of the thesis can be summarized as follows:
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Further thesis.
Add-on surgery with bipolar RF ablation showed better results than both unipolar RF and microwave sources.
Add-on ablation surgery with microwave energy did not affect QoL, which was not influenced by SR conversion.
Add-on ablation surgery with microwave energy did not prove to be cost effective.
After unsuccessful add-on surgery electrical cardioversion resulted to be more effective than in patients, undergoing isolated cardiac surgery. Electrical cardioversion should be performed within 88 days from surgery. This might be related to substrate modification induced by ablation surgery.
Real-life oral anticoagulation prescription after add-on surgery showed a moderate guideline adherence, with high-risk patients being under- treated and low-risk patients being over-treated.
Completeness of left atrial surgical ablation lines with right atrial ablation is a key point for stable, long-term normal sinus rhythm. The mitral isthmus line still represents an unanswered surgical challenge.
The hybrid approach is a potentially attractive surgical technique for add-on surgery to be tested.
larger randomised studies are necessary to confirm the results of this
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General discussion
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