Simple incision ‘reduces postoperative AF’
Surgeons may have found a way to reduce two cardiac surgery complications with one snip
Making a small incision in the pericardium can reduce the risk of AF after cardiac surgery, US researchers say.
Putting their theory to the test, the surgeons have found that posterior left percardiotomy is associated with a large reduction in incidence of AF in patients having coronary bypass, aortic valve or aortic surgery.
Outcomes of their PALACS trial were reported at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2021 virtual meeting and published simultaneously in The Lancet.
“Based on … the large treatment effect, and the very favourable risk to benefit ratio of the intervention, posterior left pericardiotomy should be considered during most cardiac surgery operations,” the authors wrote.
