What is the Maze procedure?

The upper heart chamber is known as the atrium. There are two chambers, right and left. When an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) occurs in the atrium, it is known as atrial fibrillation (A-Fib). A-Fib is the most common type of arrhythmia. It can severely impact quality of life.

The Maze procedure blocks the faulty electrical impulses that cause A-Fib. Your surgeon creates a maze of scars in the heart tissue. This scar tissue interferes with the conduction of electricity and can correct arrythmia.

Who is a candidate for the Maze procedure?

Surgeons usually reserve the Maze procedure for patients who also need additional treatment like heart valve treatments or removal of the left atrial appendage (LAA). The LAA is where blood pools and clots form in patients with A-Fib.

In many cases, less invasive treatments are effective for A-Fib, so surgery isn’t necessary. Learn more about treatments available within the Penn Cardiac Arrhythmia Program.

Procedure options and details

Cardiac rehabilitation

You will recover in the hospital for several days. The length of stay depends on the type of procedure your surgeon performs. Typically, recovery from minimally invasive heart surgery is faster than with traditional surgery.

To help you quickly return to an active lifestyle, your surgeon may recommend you undergo cardiac rehabilitation when you leave the hospital.

Maze surgery: Why choose Penn Medicine

Penn Medicine’s cardiac surgeons have deep experience performing the leading surgical approach for atrial fibrillation — the Maze procedure — without a large incision. Patients from across the region choose Penn for surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation because of our:

  • Outcomes: Because Penn’s cardiac surgeons perform a high number of Maze procedures (also known as Cox-Maze), our results are impressive. The vast majority of patients have symptom relief following the procedure.
  • Expertise: Other centers refer patients with complex cases of atrial fibrillation to Penn cardiac surgeons. We routinely provide care for patients who were told arrhythmia surgery isn’t an option. We also use the Maze procedure to successfully treat patients with mitral valve regurgitation and mitral valve stenosis in addition to atrial fibrillation.
  • Innovation: In recent years, our surgeons have performed minimally invasive Maze procedures to treat patients with atrial fibrillation who also need aortic valve surgery.

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