Hybrid ablation procedure
Find a heart specialistAt Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center, we’re here to help get your heart back on a regular beat. We can do this by offering hybrid ablation surgery for atrial fibrillation (AFib).
Hybrid ablation combines two treatment options – catheter-based care and minimally invasive surgery – into a single procedure. In addition to excellent results, our hybrid ablation procedure involves less pain and recovery time than open-chest and thoracoscopic procedures.
For you, that means faster, safer treatment that requires less time in the hospital. It also means getting back to work, family, friends and recreation sooner.
What is AFib?
AFib is a sometimes rapid or irregular heartbeat. It’s a type of arrhythmia when a heart has lost its healthy rhythm.
While traditional treatments usually can help control AFib symptoms, it often returns. When it does, the risk of blood clots, stroke or heart failure return as well.
AFib treatment
In our Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Center, we offer groundbreaking AFib ablation surgery in our innovative hybrid treatment rooms. These ablation procedures are called “hybrid” because they combine electrophysiology (using a catheter inside the heart) with heart surgery – without opening the chest to pinpoint and destroy AFib-causing tissue.
Working as teams, our doctors use catheters to destroy problematic tissue both on the inside and outside of your heart. This ablation procedure is proving much more effective than traditional catheter ablation, which destroys damaged tissue on just the interior of the heart.
Compared to traditional treatment, the hybrid treatment has shown:
- Higher success in eliminating AFib
- Better long-term results with up to 85% of people remaining AFib-free a year later
- Improvement in quality of life after the procedure
- Lower average cost per person, at five years, versus catheter ablation or medical management alone
You might be a candidate for a hybrid ablation procedure if:
- You have longstanding atrial fibrillation
- Your heart’s chambers are too large for standard ablation
- You had an unsuccessful catheter ablation procedure
- Medications or other treatments haven’t managed AFib for you
Before your surgery, your doctor may request tests such as lab tests.
You'll also see your primary care doctor or cardiologist for personalized guidelines to prepare for surgery, including:
- Refraining from eating or drinking anything after midnight the night before your procedure
- Receiving instructions on how to get ready for your procedure, including any medications you may need to stop taking
- Answering your questions and concerns
You’ll receive a general anesthetic that will put you to sleep so you won’t feel any pain. You’ll be taken into a hybrid operating room, which is an electrophysiology room equipped for sophisticated, computer-supported procedures as well as open-heart surgery.
Working as teams, our doctors use catheters to destroy problematic tissue both on the inside and outside of your heart. Using a specialized catheter, we collect voltage signals from 400-500 points in the atrium before and after the surgery. This helps us gain insights into how the AFib is occurring, and if we’ve successfully blocked specific areas.
During the procedure, the heart surgeon creates a small incision in the upper abdomen. Using small tools inserted through a small incision, the surgeon performs voltage mapping and then ablates on the outside of the heart. An electrophysiologist then uses a catheter and 3-D mapping to ablate the inside of the heart.
Together, these ablations create scar tissue that blocks the damaged electrical pathways that are causing the irregular heartbeat.
You’ll stay in the hospital for two or three days following the procedure. You should be able to go back to work within a week.
Your recovery may include cardiac rehabilitation. This medically supervised program offers extra support, education and coaching to help get you on the right track after surgery.
Placing your trust in our team
People from around eastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois choose our hospitals and clinics for our track record of safety and excellence. You can feel confident with our:
- National ranking: U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks our heart program among the best in the country. We’re dedicated to improving and transforming heart care.
- Top team: Our surgeons and electrophysiologists – the doctors who specialize in the heart’s rhythms – have the experience of performing delicate heart procedures and the expertise in hybrid treatment. All our doctors are board certified, passing rigorous, voluntary tests of skills and knowledge.
- Sophisticated tools: We have access to the latest tools and techniques, including 4-D ultrasound and 3-D imaging to visualize the heart in incredible detail before surgery, precise surface contour voltage mapping of the inside and outside of the heart, and advanced catheter tools to assist in ablation surgery.
- Leaders in the field: Our training center features the latest technology and curriculum to help health care experts treat people who have AFib. This experience means our skills in helping people overcome AFib are as up to date as possible.
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