Surgery for supraventricular tachyarrhythmias.

Since the first successful surgical intervention for Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome by W. C. Sealy, a surgical electrophysiological intervention has been developed for every single supraventricular arrhythmia. The surgical rationale is based on the site of the mechanism of the arrhythmia and associated pathology which characterizes the "arrhythmogenic substrate". Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is a congenital heart disease characterized by an accessory atrioventricular connection distinct from the AV node-His bundle system. It is associated with AV reentrant tachycardia and/or atrial fibrillation with fast ventricular responses via the accessory pathway. The current surgical management is ablation of the accessory pathway using either an endocardial dissection or epicardial approach. Surgical ablation is associated with high efficacy and low morbidity. Epicardial dissection of the accessory pathway on the beating heart has helped to localize variant accessory pathways associated with Coumel's tachycardia or Mahaim's fiber electrophysiological entity. AV nodal reentrant tachycardia can be cured using direct AV nodal dissection (or perinodal cryoablation). Atrial flutter can be interrupted by cryoablation of the arrhythmogenic substrate located in the coronary sinus orifice of the region modifying atrial inputs. Chronotropic atrial function abolished by chronic or paroxysmal idiopathic atrial fibrillation can be restored using the corridor operation (sinus node-AV node insulation). Surgery is an alternative in patients with resistant atrial tachycardias. Currently surgery is indicated only after other non-invasive EP interventions have been either attempted or rejected.