Table 2.

Early surgical attempts to restore sinus rhythm

First author references (year)	Cases/participants	Age, years	Follow-up, years (unless otherwise indicated)	Study type	Key findings/messages
Williams et al. [12]	Ten dogs	Adult	Postoperatively	Animal model	Aimed to isolate the left atrium (LA) to treat refractory ectopic supraventricular tachycardia arising in the left atrium Dog’s left atrium was paced rapidly and no atrioventricular (AV) conduction was noted after LA isolation The loss of left atrial kick did not appear to adversely impact hemodynamics The risk of thromboembolism was unlikely to be unchanged
Guiradon et al. [13] Leitch et al. [15]*	9*	48 ± 12*	21 ± 20 months*	Original description (13) Follow-up results	Sinus rhythm maintained in 7/9* Four patients required permanent pacing for sinus node dysfunction* The risk of thromboembolism was unlikely to be significantly changed*
D’Agostino HJ Jr, et al. [16]	Animal model 1 patient	N/A	N/A	Surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation in canine model of chronic MR	Unsuccessful in one patient and abandoned

^*Data from Leitch et al. MR mitral regurgitation