Diode Laser System Treats AF

A new diode laser system allows a cardiovascular surgeon to create exact and complete lines of cardiac tissue ablation to treat atrial fibrillation (AF).

The AtriLaze surgical ablation procedure was recently performed on three patients with chronic AF at Baylor University Medical Center (Dallas, TX, USA). The procedure was performed as a concomitant procedure with mitral valve repair or replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting. The use of the AtriLaze system added less time than the standard cut-and-sew Maze procedure.

"The AriLaze system is a simple, intuitive tool that allows me to make rapid, precise Cox-Maze III partition lines,” reported Dr. Baron L. Hamman, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Baylor University Medical Canter. "The laser system employs an optimal light wavelength to deliver deep penetrating energy to atrial tissue that I found to be effective in this series of patients. Two months after surgery, each of the patients showed freedom from atrial fibrillation.”

The AtriLaze system is the product of MedcalCV, Inc. (Minneapolis, MN, USA). The company is currently marketing the system for clinical use in ablating cardiac tissue and is focusing its resources on the stand-alone, minimally invasive (closed chest, beating heart) surgical treatment of AF. MedcalCV presented updates on the system's development at the annual meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery in April 2005, held in San Francisco (CA, USA).




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