RESUMO
Atrial fibrillation surgery is based on creating scars in the atrium, in order to avoid re-entry phenomena that may initiate and perpetuate arrhythmia, and driving the normal stimuli from the sinus node to the atrio-ventricular node. The complexity and increased risk of the initial surgical technique, based on a "cut-and-sew" procedure, have enhanced other current procedures, in which different energies are used making it possible to perform scars in a safer and less invasive way. At present, atrial fibrillation surgery is not performed routinely in all cardiothoracic surgical centers, and there is no consensus in which is the best type of technique. Even if the results are good, they depend on multiples factors such as duration of arrhythmia, atrial size and type of technique employed. In addition, there is some variability in the description within the scientific community of the results and procedures used, which makes its analysis confusing. In this paper we review the different techniques described, the results and their application in minimally invasive surgery.