Heart surgeons with Lancaster General Health Physicians Cardiothoracic Surgery expertly perform the Maze procedure to treat an arrhythmia that occurs along with other heart conditions. Our nationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeons have advanced fellowship training and expertise in complex heart surgeries like the Maze procedure.
The Maze procedure (also called the Cox-Maze procedure) is a type of open-chest heart ablation treatment for atrial fibrillation (A-Fib). Heart ablations use extreme heat (radiofrequency) or cold (cryoablation) to destroy the heart cells that cause an irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia. Most heart ablations take place through catheters (thin, flexible tubes) threaded through a blood vessel to your heart.
We also offer minimally invasive Maze, or mini-Maze, procedures. These procedures involve smaller incisions and don’t require the use of a heart-lung bypass machine. Surgeons use heart-lung bypass machines to pump oxygenated body throughout the body when they need to stop your heart.
A Maze procedure takes place while you’re undergoing cardiothoracic surgery to treat heart valve disease or another heart condition. Our experienced cardiothoracic surgeons treat both heart conditions at the same time so you don’t have to undergo multiple procedures.
While your chest is open, our surgeons use a scalpel or hot or cold energy to cut a maze-like pattern in the heart tissue where the arrhythmia originates. Once healed, the scarred tissue can’t send the faulty electric signals that caused the arrhythmia.
Our surgeons also seal off the opening to the left atrial appendage (LAA). When you have A-Fib, blood can pool and clot in this small pouch in your heart. Closing off the LAA prevents blood clots from entering your bloodstream where they can cause a life-threatening stroke.
Our heart surgeons perform the Maze procedure in one of the Lancaster region’s only hybrid operating rooms (OR). This OR combines the capabilities of a cardiac catheterization lab with a heart surgery operating room.
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To learn more about the Maze procedure, call 717-544-8300.
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