The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol 81, 707-712, Copyright © 1981 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery and The Western Thoracic Surgical Association
Surgical problems with multiple accessory pathways of atrioventricular conduction
WC Sealy and JJ Gallagher
Thirty-six accessory pathways of atrioventricular conduction of the Kent
type were found in 17 patients in a series of 161 patients subjected to
direct operation for arrhythmias caused by the pathways. Careful
preoperative studies detected the multiple pathways in 11 patients. In four
patients, the additional pathways were found at operation, and in two
patients they were found after operation. The operation successfully
interrupted 32 of the 36 pathways. Multiple pathways must be sought for in
all patients who are operated upon for arrhythmias caused by accessory
pathways.