In patients with atrial fibrillation that cannot be treated with medical therapy or transcatheter radiofrequency ablation (TRA), cardiac surgeons perform the Maze operation and install the Watchman device.
To perform heart surgery, foreign patients most often choose the famous cardiac surgeon Dr. Leonid Sternik, who works in the Assuta and Sheba clinics. Dr. Sternik specializes in the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation and has over 30 years of experience. In a hybrid operating room, the surgeon simultaneously performs several interventions:
creates a “maze” of micro-cuts in the atrial myocardium, which stops the spread of pathological impulses in the atria and thereby prevents their fibrillation;
using an intracardiac catheter, installs a “watchman” device in the form of a self-expanding umbrella in the left atrial appendage, which prevents the formation of blood clots and the development of a stroke;
eliminates, if necessary, all other cardiac pathologies – stents or shunts of the coronary arteries, corrects the mitral valve.
For many patients, cardiac surgeon Sternik performs a minimally invasive version of the operation. The success rate of the labyrinth operation in Assuta, according to the clinic, is over 90%.