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Ann Thorac Surg 2008;85:916-920. doi:10.1016/j.athoracsur.2007.10.090
© 2008 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
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Original Articles: Cardiovascular

Long-Term Effects of the Maze Procedure on Atrial Size and Mechanical Function

Stefan Lönnerholm, MDa,*, Per Blomström, MDa, Leif Nilsson, MDb, Carina Blomström-Lundqvist, MDa

a Department of Cardiology, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden
b Department of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden

Accepted for publication October 29, 2007.

* Address correspondence to Dr Lönnerholm, Department of Cardiology, University Hospital, Uppsala, S-751 85, Sweden (Email: stefan.lonnerholm{at}akademiska.se).


   Abstract
Top
 Abstract
Introduction
 Material and Methods
 Results
 Comment
 References
 
Background: The Maze procedure is effective in restoring sinus rhythm, but the extensive procedure may have negative effects on atrial mechanical function. Decreased atrial contractility has been observed early after the Maze procedure. The purpose of this study was to determine the long-term effect of the Maze procedure on atrial size and mechanical function.

Methods: Fifty-two patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation, without structural heart or valvular disease, underwent the Cox Maze III procedure. Atrial size and mechanical function were assessed by echocardiographic examination at baseline and postoperatively at a mean ± SD of 6 ± 1 and 56 ± 12 months.

Results: The left atrial area was decreased 6 months after the procedure compared with baseline (mean, 15.4 ± 3.3 vs 17.6 ± 3.2 cm2, p < 0.01). By 56 months, however, the left atrial area had increased compared with the 6-month follow-up (19.5 ± 3.9 vs 15.4 ± 3.3 cm2, p < 0.001), resulting in no difference in left atrial size compared with the baseline values. The left atrial contractility, measured as fractional area change, was significantly reduced at 6 and 56 months of follow-up (0.20 ± 0.09 and 0.19 ± 0.07 vs baseline 0.36 ± 0.09), as was the transmitral A-wave velocity (30 ± 12 and 28 ± 8 cm/s vs baseline 40 ± 15). The same pattern was seen for the right atrium.

Conclusions: This study shows that the Maze procedure results in a sustained decrease in atrial contractility. The initial reduction in atrial size is later reversed. These findings contradict late improvements in atrial mechanical function after Maze surgery and may have important implications for the risk of thromboembolic complications.


   Introduction
Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
Material and Methods
 Results
 Comment
 References
 
The Maze III procedure was introduced in 1995 as a curative therapy for atrial fibrillation (AF) [1]. Despite the described high efficacy rate of 75% to 98% [2–11], the cost and complexity of the Maze III procedure, as well as concerns about atrial mechanical function, have been arguments against the operation. With the advent of transvenous catheter ablation for AF, the Cox Maze procedure has mainly been reserved for combined surgical procedures where the primary indication has been other than AF. Return of atrial contraction after the Maze operation has been observed in several studies including patients with permanent AF [12–14]. Reduced atrial mechanical function was, however, seen in a group of patients with paroxysmal lone AF after the Maze procedure compared with preoperatively, and there were indications of further deterioration of left atrial mechanical function late after surgery [15].

Catheter-based procedures were initially confined to the ostium of the pulmonary veins [16], but have gradually changed with the addition of extensive ablation lines in the left atrium [17] resembling the lesion sets of the Maze III procedure. Recently, reduced atrial contractility was reported 5 months after circumferential pulmonary vein isolation for AF [18]. Reduced atrial contractility has implications for the atrial contribution to ventricular myocardial performance and may also promote thromboembolic complications. This fact emphasizes the importance of assessing the long-term effect of atrial mechanical function after both surgical and catheter-ablation procedures for AF.

In this prospective study, we assessed atrial size and mechanical function by echocardiography before the Maze III operation, early postoperatively (mean 6 ± 1 months), and at a long-term follow-up (mean 56 ± 12 months).


   Material and Methods
Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Material and Methods
Results
 Comment
 References
 
Study Population
Between February 1996 and February 2000, 75 patients with AF underwent the Maze III procedure at the University Hospital of Uppsala, Sweden. The primary indication for surgery was severely symptomatic, drug-refractory AF in all patients. Excluded from the study were 14 patients who underwent additional cardiac procedures. The exceptions were a patient who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and another patient who underwent aortic root grafting (both pathologies found at preoperative routine evaluation) because no procedures were done inside the heart. None of the patients had undergone any previous cardiac operations or catheter ablation for AF. We performed a long-term follow-up of all living patients, with a minimum observation period of 38 months after the Maze surgery. Nine patients were excluded for this follow-up: 4 were living abroad, 3 were unwilling to participate, and 2 had incomplete recordings of the echocardiographic examination.

The study population consisted of 52 patients with a mean age of 55 years (range, 32 to 72 years). Clinical characteristics are summarized in Table 1. The mean duration after Maze surgery to the end of long-term follow-up was 56 ± 12 months.


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  		Table 1 Clinical Characteristics
 
Most patients (35 of 52) were in AF during the preoperative echocardiographic evaluation. In the remaining 17 patients who were in sinus rhythm, complete echocardiographic evaluations, including measurements of atrial mechanical function, were performed serially before the operation and postoperatively at 6 ± 1 and 56 ± 12 months. One patient with sinus rhythm at baseline evaluation had died by the end of long-term follow-up, but had an echocardiographic examination 29 months after the Maze operation and was included in this subgroup.

The study complies with the Declaration of Helsinki, and the Regional Ethics Review Board approved the research protocol. All patients provided oral and written informed consent to participate in the study.

Surgical Procedure
The standard Maze III procedure, described by Cox [1], was completed in all patients without any modification. The cut and sew technique was used for all lesions. Cryolesions were used to secure electric isolation where the incision lines ended at the tricuspid and mitral annulus.

Clinical Follow-Up
All patients received warfarin for 6 months. Antiarrhythmic drugs were not routinely prescribed after the procedure but were given to patients with early AF recurrences. If the patients were free of AF at 6 months, the warfarin and antiarrhythmic drugs were stopped unless the patient had another indication for warfarin.

Echocardiographic Examination
Echocardiographic examinations were made according to a standard study protocol by experienced technicians supervised by a clinical physiologist. A commercially available Hewlett-Packard Sonos 1500, 2500, or 5500 instrument (Hewlett-Packard Co, Medical Products Group, Andover, MA) with a 2.5-MHz transducer was used, and the results were recorded on video home system (VHS) videotapes. The recordings were later reviewed by one experienced cardiologist who measured the right and left atrial dimensions and transmitral inflow velocities. Maximal right and left atrial cavity areas were obtained by planimetry in the apical 4-chamber view at the end of systole, defined as the last frame before mitral valve opening. Minimal left and right atrial cavity areas were obtained at end diastole at the time of the R wave on the electrocardiogram (ECG). The mean values were calculated from 3 consecutive beats. The atrial fractional area change (maximum area-minimum area/maximum area x 100) of the right and left atria was then calculated.

Pulsed-Doppler echocardiography was used to assess the transmitral flow velocities from an apical 4-chamber view with a sample volume from the tip of the mitral leaflets during diastole. Peak velocities of the early filling (E) wave and atrial filling (A) wave, as well as the deceleration time of the E wave, were measured and averaged over 3 beats and the E/A ratios were calculated.

Statistical Analysis
All values are expressed as the mean ± SD. The Student two-tailed paired t test was used for comparison of data for each patient at different time periods. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.


   Results
Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Material and Methods
 Results
Comment
 References
 
At long-term follow-up, 56 ± 12 months after the procedure, 45 of 52 patients (86.5%) were in sinus rhythm, 3 (5.8%) were paced in AAI mode, and 4 (7.7%) paced in DDD mode. No patient had experienced a symptomatic recurrence of AF, and no AF was found on ECG at follow-up. In the group with sinus rhythm postoperatively, all 17 patients were in sinus rhythm both at 6 months and at long-term follow-up. No patient had had any thromboembolic event.

Atrial Area Dimensions
At long-term follow-up, the maximal and minimal left atrial area was 20.8 ± 4.3 and 16.4 ± 4.1 cm2, respectively. The corresponding figures for the right atrial area were 19.1 ± 4.5 and 16.8 ± 3.9 cm2, respectively. Group mean values of the maximum area of the left and right atrium were not significantly different at long-term follow-up compared with baseline (20.4 ± 4.1 vs 20.8 ± 4.3 cm2 and 18.9 ± 4.7 vs 19.1 ± 4.5 cm2, respectively).

In 17 patients with paroxysmal AF, significant changes were found in the left and right atrial areas compared with baseline (Table 2). Six months after the Maze procedure, the maximum area of both the left and right atria had decreased significantly, whereas both dimensions of the left and right atria increased significantly when measured at 56 months. The minimal areas of both atria at long-term follow-up were larger than before the procedure.


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  		Table 2 Atrial Measurements and Fractional Area Change at Baseline and at Follow-Up After Cox Maze Procedure a
 
Atrial Mechanical Function
At long-term follow-up, 10 of 52 patients (19%) had no measurable left atrial contraction based on the absence of a transmitral A wave. In the remaining 42 patients, the mean transmitral A-wave velocity was 22 ± 14 cm/s and the mean transmitral E-wave velocity was 18 ± 17 cm/s, resulting in a mean E/A ratio of 3.16 ± 0.83 at a mean 56 ± 12 months after the Maze procedure.

The longitudinal measurements of the transmitral E wave and A wave in the 17 patients with sinus rhythm preoperatively are shown in Table 3, and the corresponding E/A ratios are shown in Figure 1. A significant increase in the transmitral E wave (p < 0.01) and a decrease in the transmitral A wave (p < 0.03) were seen at 6 months after the Maze operation compared with baseline values. The transmitral E wave continued to increase between 6 and 56 months postoperatively, but no significant change was measured for the transmitral A wave. Correspondingly, the E/A ratio measured at 56 months was higher than the ratio at baseline (2.93 ± 0.78 vs 1.50 ± 0.83, p < 0.0001).


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  		Table 3 The Transmitral Pulsed Doppler Velocities a
 

Figure 1
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  		Fig 1. Transmitral pulsed Doppler measurements of E/A wave ratio before and at short- and long-term follow-up after the Maze procedure in the 17 patients with sinus rhythm at baseline evaluation. Data are presented as mean, and the vertical bars denote 95% confidence intervals.

 
The fractional area changes at baseline and follow-ups after the Maze procedure, in the group of patients with sinus rhythm at baseline, are shown in Figure 2. The fractional area change was significantly decreased at 6 months after the Maze procedure and remained unchanged at 56 months in both the left and the right atria compared with baseline (Table 2).


Figure 2
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  		Fig 2. Echocardiographic measurement of the fractional change in the right (squares) and left atrial (circles) area before and at 6 and 56 months after the Cox Maze procedure in the 17 patients with sinus rhythm at baseline evaluation. The vertical bars denote 95% confidence intervals; p < 0.05 for 6 and 56 months measurements vs baseline.

 

   Comment
Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Material and Methods
 Results
 Comment
References
 
Main Findings
We describe the long-term effects on atrial size and mechanical function after the Maze III surgical procedure in a population with AF without structural heart disease. All patients were successfully treated, with 100% freedom from symptomatic AF recurrences at 56 months. Despite the effective rhythm control, a sustained decline in the atrial mechanical function was found in the population with paroxysmal AF. Atrial mechanical function could be measured in most patients with chronic AF before the operation, but the level was far from normal. Several groups have previously reported reduced atrial mechanical function after Maze III surgery as well as after modified Maze procedures [12–19]. Most of these patients had concomitant valvular disease, however, and it is therefore unclear if the reduced contractility was related to the valvular disease per se or the surgical procedure. We have previously reported results from a small patient population with paroxysmal AF followed up longitudinally for 24 months after Maze III operations in which a trend towards a gradual decline in the atrial mechanical function was seen [15]. The present study supports our previous findings in that there are no late improvements in atrial contractility after surgical therapy for AF in this population.

Reports on the atrial mechanical function after pulmonary vein isolation by transvenous catheter ablation techniques have been conflicting. In a study by Lemola and colleagues [18], who used contrast-enhanced computed tomography imaging, the left atrial ejection fraction was reduced by 30% after surgery in a patient population with paroxysmal AF, whereas in another echocardiographic study by Reant and colleagues [20], the mechanical function was unchanged in patients with paroxysmal AF. The conflicting results may be explained by the different ablation technique used. In the study by Reant and colleagues [20], only the pulmonary veins were electrically isolated in most of the patients, whereas in the study by Lemola and colleagues [18], a more extensive approach was used that isolated a larger area of the left atrium.

Another important finding in our study is that both the systolic and diastolic sizes of the left and right atria increased late postoperatively compared with 6 months postoperatively. The reduced atrial size observed 6 to 12 months after both surgical and catheter-based procedures for AF has been proposed as a key factor for maintaining sinus rhythm [21]. Maintenance of sinus rhythm and scarring due to extensive procedures, whether surgical or catheter-based, have been proposed as explanations for the reduction in atrial size. Our finding of a late increase in both the systolic and diastolic atrial sizes despite almost 5 years of sinus rhythm was unexpected. The pathophysiologic mechanisms for this atrial enlargement are unknown. One may speculate whether an ongoing myocardial process could be the reason for and not the consequence of AF, or whether an irreversible mechanical remodelling with fibrosis and compensated dilatation related to longstanding AF may be an explanation. Another tentative explanation may be a late deterioration of atrial myocardial function due to the surgical procedure and subsequent scarring.

Clinical Implications
The goal of most therapies for AF is to restore sinus rhythm, which thereby is expected to improve quality of life, restore the mechanical function, and reduce the risk of thromboembolic complications. Sinus rhythm can be restored most patients with both the Maze procedure and different catheter ablation procedures. It has been established for both techniques that they improve quality of life [22–24]. For patients with permanent AF, atrial mechanical function is improved after any AF therapy that restores sinus rhythm. For patients with paroxysmal AF, however, the Maze III procedure, different modified Maze procedures, and at least the more extensive catheter-ablation procedures seem to reduce atrial mechanical function. The clinical significance of this reduction is yet unclear.

The risk of thromboembolic complications is related to stasis of blood within the left atrium and left atrial appendage. It has been presumed that restoration of sinus rhythm prevents the risk for thromboembolic complications. Despite this presumption, the left atrial appendage is removed in many surgical procedures to minimize the risk of future formation of thrombi. The level of atrial mechanical function needed to prevent thromboembolic complications is presently not known.

In this long-term study, reduced or even absent atrial contractility was noted both early and late after cut and sew Maze procedure. If similar changes occur after catheter ablation procedures performed without excision of the left atrial appendage, the risk of thromboembolic complications might increase despite resumption of sinus rhythm. The finding in this study, together with reports of reduced atrial contraction after commonly used catheter ablation procedures, stress the need for long-term studies assessing the risk of thromboembolic complications after nonpharmacologic therapies for AF.

Study Limitation
One limitation of this study is the small number of patients in sinus rhythm at baseline evaluation, permitting evaluation of changes in atrial mechanical function after the procedure compared to before in only 17 patients. This was because patients accepted for Maze surgery had long-standing AF and had to have tried and failed most available antiarrhythmic drugs and thus often developed persistent or permanent AF. Although a small number of patients were studied, they were homogenous and without any concomitant valvular disease. It was therefore possible to evaluate the effects of the surgical procedure per se on atrial size and transport function.


   References
Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Material and Methods
 Results
 Comment
 References
 

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