Non-Invasive Method for Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation and Arrhythmias How all Started
Author(s): Federico Benetti, Judie Vivian, Michael Pankratov
It all began on June 20th, 2002 when Federico Benetti, Michail Pankratov, and Judie Vivian attended the Surgical Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (STAF) live teleconference in New York. Ralph Damiano was a great surgeon and teacher. He explained to the audience how atrial fibrillation was usually due to ectopic electrical pathways in the atria, allowing the electrical signal generated by the Sinoatrial node has many extra pathways to cross the atria. That caused the atrium to fibrillate. He described how his colleague, Dr. James Cox, had developed a way to surgically sever these ectopic pathways by cutting the atrium into pieces, like a maze, and then suturing them back together. He also showed ways to sever connections by freezing parts of the atria and by cauterizing other parts.