Is it feasible to treat atrial fibrillation at the time of minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting?

Purpose of review: Coronary artery bypass grafting remains the most common operation performed by cardiac surgeons. As a result, a cardiac surgeon with a typical practice will most commonly encounter atrial fibrillation when performing coronary artery bypass grafting. In this review, we first emphasize the importance of treating atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing coronary bypass grafting. We review benefits of concomitant surgical ablation and its importance relative to complete coronary revascularization. We then discuss options to treat atrial fibrillation in a more minimally invasive manner in these patients, while still preserving treatment efficacy.

Recent findings: Surgical ablation at the time of coronary artery bypass grafting surgery could be as important as complete revascularization. Bi-atrial ablation provides superior rhythm control compared to left-sided ablation only.

Summary: We highlight various options for surgical ablation at the time of coronary artery bypass grafting surgery, and provide an algorithm for ablation in individual patients.