Atrial fibrillation after typical atrial flutter ablation: a long-term follow-up.

Objective: Although catheter ablation is an effective treatment for typical atrial flutter (TFL), atrial fibrillation may occur during follow-up. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of postablation atrial fibrillation in patients with or without atrial fibrillation before TFL ablation.

Methods: One hundred and ninety-two patients (135 men, age 68 ± 9 years) ablated for TFL were divided into two groups: group 1 (80 patients) with isolated TFL and group 2 (112 patients) with TFL and atrial fibrillation before ablation.

Endoscopic fetal surgery: in vitro thermic effect of electrosurgical units.

Objective: The study focused on the safety of electrosurgical devices in endoscopic fetal surgery. The thermic effects of monopolar electric waves were studied in vitro in order to obtain safety indications in terms of mode of intramniotic application of electrical devices (time and number of shots; volts; and distance from tissues to be preserved).

Study Design: A glass model filled with saline solution, and an electrical device with resistor and voltage supply, were constructed to reproduce the physical effects of thermic conductivity in vitro; a Swan-Ganz thermic sensor was used to measure the temperature inside the beuta.