The long-term outcomes of surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation during redo left-sided valvular surgery

Background: This study evaluated the outcome of surgical ablation (SA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) concomitant with redo left-sided valvular surgery. Methods: The study enrolled 224 AF patients (paroxysmal: 13 patients, persistent: 76 patients, longstanding persistent AF: 135 patients) undergoing redo open heart surgery for left-sided valve disease. The early results and long-term clinical outcomes were compared between those who underwent concomitant SA for AF (SA group) and did not (NSA group). Propensity score adjusted Cox regression analysis of overall survival and competing risk analysis of the other clinical outcomes were performed. Results: Seventy-three patients were classified as the SA group and 151 as the NSA group. The median follow-up duration was 124 (1.0-249.5) months. The median ages of the patients in the SA and NSA groups were 54.1 +/- 11.3 and 58.4 +/- 11.1 years, respectively. There were no significant differences between the groups in the early in-hospital mortality rate (5.5% vs. 9.3%, P=0.474) or postoperative complications, except for low cardiac output syndrome (11.0% vs. 23.8%, P=0.036). Overall survival was better in the SA group [hazard ratio, 0.452; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.218-0.936, P=0.032]. The incidence of recurrent AF was significantly higher in the SA group on multivariate analysis [hazard ratio, 3.440; 95% CI: 1.987-5.950, P<0.001]. The cumulative incidence of the composite of thromboembolism and bleeding was lower in the SA than NSA group [hazard ratio, 0.338; 95% CI: 0.127-0.897, P=0.029]. Conclusions: The concomitant surgical arrhythmia ablation with redo cardiac surgery for left-sided heart disease resulted in a better overall survival, higher incidence of sinus conversion, and lower incidence of a composite of thromboembolism and major bleeding. Concomitant SA procedure should be considered in patients undergoing redo cardiac surgery.