Hospital Named National Training Site

BRIDGEPORT — The Joel E. Smilow Heart Institute at Bridgeport Hospital has become a national training site for convergent hybrid ablation to treat atrial fibrillation (a-fib). A-fib is the most common type of heart rhythm disorder, affecting more than two million people in the United States.

Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery M. Clive Robinson, MD and cardiac electrophysiologist Murali Chiravuri, MD, PhD, performed New England’s first hybrid ablation at the hospital in June 2011. The innovative treatment combines the best approaches of minimally invasive surgery and catheter ablation, resulting in a more comprehensive procedure and a better outcome for the patient.

During hybrid ablation, a cardiac surgeon and electrophysiologist (cardiologist who specializes in heart rhythm care) work side-by-side — the surgeon from the outside the heart inward and the electrophysiologist from inside of the heart outward. Each physician uses a device that emits radiofrequency energy to create a pattern of scar tissue (ablation bands) on the heart.

This scar tissue interrupts the faulty electrical signals in the heart that cause a-fib.

During two dozen subsequent hybrid ablations since the first one at the hospital, Dr Robinson has enhanced the surgical portion of the procedure, making it even more effective.