Tonks, RobertLantz, GurionMahlow, JeremyHirsh, JeffreyLee, Lawrence S.2020-04-142020-04-142020-02-20Tonks, R., Lantz, G., Mahlow, J., Hirsh, J., & Lee, L. S. (2020). Short and Intermediate Term Outcomes of the Convergent Procedure: Initial Experience in a Tertiary Referral Center. Annals of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery : official journal of the Association of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Asia, 26(1), 13–21. https://doi.org/10.5761/atcs.oa.19-00164https://hdl.handle.net/1805/22568PURPOSE: The Convergent procedure is a hybrid, multidisciplinary treatment for symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) consisting of minimally invasive surgical epicardial ablation and percutaneous/catheter endocardial ablation. We investigated outcomes following introduction of the Convergent procedure at our institution. METHODS: Retrospective study examining single-center outcomes. Demographic, procedural, and post-procedural variables were collected with follow-up data obtained at 3, 6, and 12 months. RESULTS: In all, 36 patients with paroxysmal (11%) or persistent/long-standing persistent (89%) AF underwent the Convergent procedure. 36% also underwent concomitant left atrial appendage (LAA) exclusion by thoracoscopic placement of an epicardial clip. Mean age 60.6 ± 8.0 years with mean arrhythmia burden of 3.9 ± 2.7 years. All patients had failed prior attempts at medical management, 81% had failed prior cardioversion, and 17% had failed prior catheter ablation. Convergent was performed successfully in all patients with no peri-procedural deaths or major complications. At 3 and 12 months, 77.8% and 77.3% of patients, respectively, were free from symptomatic arrhythmia. 65.8% were off anti-arrhythmic medication at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: The Convergent procedure is safe and has good short- and intermediate-term clinical success rates. This unique hybrid approach combines strengths of surgical and catheter ablation and should be part of any comprehensive AF treatment program.en-USAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 InternationalArrhythmiaAtrial fibrillationConvergent procedureHybrid ablationArticle