TT Mini-Maze- Dr Niv Ad or NYC Surgeon

[s_r_t]

I am considering the above procedure for Lone Paroxysmal AFib.  Does any one have experience with Dr Niv Ad in Virginia?  Does any one know who is the best Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon in NYC who does TT Mini-Maze Procedures?

[Jerry_NJ]

I don't know what a TT-Mini Maze is.  As you can read in my profile on this forum, I have undergone a mini-maze myself.  Mine was done during open heart surgery to repair my mitral valve.  The min-maze I had was a procedure in which a pattern (maze) of cuts were made in the atirum to cause scare tissue to form in the hope the "extra" electrical beat signals would be blocked.  The procedure did not stop my AFib.

None of the medications nor procedures are 100% effective, some work for a period of time, maybe years, and others don't work at all or work for a short period of time, weeks or months.

Has your doctor discussed ablation?  This is a catheter based invasive procedure which may work to stop AFib.  I believe the Mini-Maze has a higher probability of success, but as stated, in my case even that didn't work.

I have permanent AFib, my heart is in AFib 24/7.

[Midijane]

Hi SRT,

A mini maze procedure is used to treat atrial fibrillation(Afib). With A normal heart beat, the we should only have one electrical impulse which causes our heart muscle to contract and relax should. But with Afib, we can have many electric impulses that cause the heart muscle to contract and relax.

One way a doctor can can help to control this is by the mini maze procedure, and this is often done after different medications have been tried without success. A doctor will use something like a cautery tool to create an outline around where the electric impulse should begin. By cauterizing the area around the site where the electric impulse should begin, it only allows for one electrical impulse instead of many electrical impulses (as we see in Afib) to cause our heart muscle to contract and relax. It helps to control Afib and hopefully will correct it.

Its usually a simple procedure performed in a cath lab and if I remember correctly a patient will need to stay in the hospital a day or two (but dont quote me here).

Best wishes to you. Let me know if anything needs clarification here or if another questis popped up while reading this response.