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Broadcast:
Convergent Procedure for Atrial Fibrillation
On Thursday, February 4, 2010, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, surgeons and others are invited to join Andy C. Kiser, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon and Mark Landers, M.D., electrophysiologist, in a live presentation of the Convergent Procedure for the treatment of long-standing atrial fibrillation.
The Convergent Procedure is now being performed internationally, and the majority have been performed at Moore Regional Hospital by Dr. Kiser in collaboration with Dr. Landers or a second Moore Regional electrophysiologist, Ker Boyce, M.D.
In January 2009, Dr. Andy Kiser and Dr. Mark Landers assembled an international team of renowned surgeons and cardiologists in Krakow, Poland, to perform the first convergent procedure that brought together the best aspects of surgical and electrophysiological treatment for the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation.
This convergent procedure allows doctors from different fields of medicine to work side by side to treat AF simultaneously.
Until now, catheter ablation and surgery were different aspects of the many treatment possibilities for AF. Following the ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation, patients in consultation with their cardiologist had to choose which procedure to have. Now, with the convergent procedure, patients can have the best of both fields, reducing many of the less desirable aspects of both.
The procedure, pioneered by Dr. Kiser, offers a beating-heart, off-bypass surgical solution to AF that has had excellent results. In an effort to further improve on the success of the procedure, he has sought ways to reduce the less desirable aspects of the procedure, such as one-lung ventilation and right-sided thoracotomy.
Catheter ablation has had significant improvements in recent years, but practitioners have sought ways to reduce the amount of radiation received and the time spent on the entire procedure.
The Convergent Procedure offers a “Howitzer” to the electrophysiologist, and electrophysiologic studies (EPS) and intra-cardiac mapping clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the procedure. This allows for less procedure time and less fluoroscopy (radiation) exposure. For the surgeon, the Convergent Procedure reduces the overall operative time and avoids right-sided thoracotomy and right-lung deflation. For the patient, it means less pain and should offer a shorter hospital stay and a greater overall chance for success.
Atrial fibrillation (a-fib), which affects an estimated five million people, is the most common type of heart rhythm disturbance. It is the rapid, uncoordinated beating of the atria, the two upper chambers of the heart.
The atria quiver instead of beating in rhythm when the electrical impulses that cause them to contract travel through the heart in chaotic fashion. Some people with a-fib are severely debilitated by weakness, shortness of breath or pain. Others have no symptoms at all.
