Maze Surgery
Maze surgery is conducted during open heart surgery. It corrects fast, irregular heart rhythms by creating scar tissue in the upper chambers of the heart. In this procedure, your surgeon will control your breathing and circulation with a heart-lung machine. Next, various techniques are used to create small, precise incisions in the upper chambers of the heart to create a pattern of scar surgery. Your surgeon may use a scalpel, a device that destroys tissue by freezing it, or a radiofrequency device that destroys tissue using radiofrequency energy. As the heart heals, these cuts will form scar tissue, which cannot carry electrical impulses, so the heart’s electrical impulses are redirected to the correct path. Most patients recover from Maze surgery in the hospital in up to seven days, including one or two days in intensive care.