Clinical effect of total thoracoscopic mitral valve surgery combined with atrial fibrillation radiofrequency ablation in patients with different left atrium diameter—a single center prospective observational cohort study

BACKGROUND: Mitral valve surgery combined with atrial fibrillation (AF) radiofrequency ablation (AFRA) is recommended as the first-line strategy for valvular disease-related AF. There are relatively few reports on the effect of AFRA combined with total thoracoscopic mitral valve surgery. This article aimed to analyze the clinical data and prognostic outcomes of patients with diverse left atrium diameter (LAD) (>50 or ≤50 mm) who underwent total thoracoscopic mitral valve surgery combined with AFRA. METHODS: We conducted a prospective analysis of patients who underwent AFRA from January 2021 to June 2022 in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Chinese PLA General Hospital. The inclusion criteria were: (I) aged 40–70 years; (II) diagnosed with valvular heart disease and concomitant long-term persistent AF (>1 year); (III) patients who underwent total thoracoscopic mitral valve surgery; (IV) with a left ventricular end-diastolic diameter of ≤70 mm; (V) with a LAD ≤65 mm; and (VI) left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥50%. The included patients were assigned to group A and B depend up on the LAD. All patients were followed up at 3 and 6 months timepoints postoperatively. The prime endpoint was the recovery rate of sinus rhythm. RESULTS: There were 24 cases in group A (LAD >50 mm) and 16 cases in group B (LAD ≤50 mm). The two groups exhibited no statistical differences in terms of age, gender proportion, preoperative comorbidities, AF duration, preoperative heart function, and type of valve disease (P>0.05). The LAD, pulmonary artery pressure, and left ventricular diameter of group A were significantly greater than those of group B (P<0.05). There were no new cerebrovascular incidents during the perioperative and follow-up periods. The sinus rhythm conversion rates in group A after surgery and at 6 months were 75% and 66.7%, respectively; meanwhile, both of these values were 87.5% in group B, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Total thoracoscopic mitral valve surgery with AFRA is more effective in maintaining sinus rhythm in patients with LAD ≤50 mm than in those with LAD >50 mm without increased risk of adverse events. Further studies are warranted to validate our findings.