Epicardial ablation performance of a novel radiofrequency device on the beating heart in pigs.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Only bipolar clamps create reliable transmural lesions on the beating heart. This study evaluated the performance of a new radiofrequency (RF) device on the beating heart in an acute porcine model. DESCRIPTION Six domestic pigs were ablated with a novel bipolar RF linear device on the beating heart (ablation time of 40 s, 3 each on right and left atria and 1 each on superior and inferior vena cavae). The heart was stained with 2, 3, 5-triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride, and each lesion was cross-sectioned for lesion depth and transmurality. EVALUATION Transmurality was documented in 89% of the cross-sections. Sixty-three percent of lesions were transmural along the entire lesion length. Overall, 85% of the nontransmural cross-sections were located on the right atrium, and half of the nontransmural sections were in the superior or inferior vena cavae lesions. CONCLUSIONS: This novel device was able to create transmural lesions on the beating heart, more effectively in the left atrium than in the right atrium.