Table 1.

Summary of Cox-Maze procedures

Procedure	Year first used	Still in use	Modification from previous iteration	Limitations of procedure
Cox-Maze I (Cut-and-sew)	1987	No (32 total patients)	NA	Inability to produce appropriate sinus tachycardia
				Postoperative LA dysfunction
Cox-Maze II (Cut-and-sew)	1987	No (12 total patients)	LA: transverse atriotomy across the dome of the left atrium moved posteriorly	Prolonged intraatrial conduction
			RA: elimination of SVC→RA lesion	Have to completely transect SVC to gain LA exposure
Cox-Maze III (Cut-and-sew)	1988	Yes	RA: placement of septal incision posterior to the orifice of the SVC	Prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass times and technical difficulty
Cox Maze IV (Bipolar RF ablation and cryoablation)	2002	Yes	Combination of bipolar RF ablation and cryoablation	Continued need for cardiopulmonary bypass
			LA: box lesion around posterior left atrium

LA, left atrial; RA, right atrial; RF, radiofrequency; SVC, superior vena cava.

Adapted from [4].