“Cutting-Edge” Treatment Offers Incision-Free Surgery

For 72-year-old Marshall Spann and his family, 2003 is looking brighter than ever.

Recently, Spann, who has a history of congestive heart failure, was the first patient to undergo a new procedure at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital to stabilize his heart’s erratic rhythm.

The hospital’s cardiovascular team identified Spann as an excellent candidate for irrigated radiofrequency ablation with the Medtronic Cardioblate Surgical Ablation Pen, which eliminates the need to make incisions in the heart, as is done in traditional heart surgery. Irrigated radiofrequency ablation corrects atrial fibrillation, the most common cause of heart arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat.

Spann underwent the speedy, uncomplicated surgery in December and is comfortably recovering at home in Altair, Texas with no complications.

Luis Echeverri, M.D., the cardiovascular surgeon who operated on Spann, says the surgical pen uses irrigated radiofrequency energy to heat the affected heart tissue, producing lesions rather than incisions. Irrigated radiofrequency surgical ablation technology provides surgeons with an easier and less invasive means of creating lesions in cardiac tissue. It also has a high success rate and low risk of complications.

“Irrigated radiofrequency ablation with the use of the surgical ablation pen is an effective treatment option for patients who suffer from atrial fibrillation,” says Echeverri.

The surgeon guides the pen on the area of heart muscle where there’s an extra pathway. Then a mild, painless irrigated radiofrequency energy, similar to microwave heat, is transmitted to the pathway. This causes heart muscle cells in a very small area (about one-fifth of an inch) to die, preventing the area from conducting the extra impulses that cause rapid heartbeats.

Atrial fibrillation affects about 2.2 million people in the United States. More than 160,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Chronic atrial fibrillation is associated with heart failure, blood clots, a five- to seven-fold increase in stroke and increased mortality from heart disease.

“Offering irrigated radiofrequency ablation to my patients gives them cutting-edge technology to treat potentially life-threatening conditions,” says Echeverri. “This procedure adds another management tool for complex conditions. Patients who return to a normal rhythm have a functional improvement and may avoid the need for long-term use of blood thinners. There is also a significant decrease in stroke.”

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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