Atrial Fibrillation Services - Specialized Procedures
This page provides information about a featured electrophysiologist, cardiologist, cardiothoracic surgeon, hospital, heart hospital, arrhythmia center, or atrial fibrillation center.
On this page you will find information about this atrial fibrillation patient services provider's specialized atrial fibrillation treatments, such as catheter ablation, maze surgery, or the mini maze procedure, as well as the provider's afib procedure results, if available.
The link back to the Full Profile will take you to a profile of this provider that has background, an overview of the atrial fibrillation treatments provided, and a link to reviews by other afib patients, if available.
Marc W. Gerdisch M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.C.C.
5255 E Stop 11 Rd
Indianapolis, Indiana
317-851-2331
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Specialized Procedures and Results
Research and Professional Activities
Doctor Gerdisch has trained many surgeons nationally and internationally to perform Mini-maze surgery. He participates in the MISA (Minimally Invasive Surgery for Afib) Registry which is a multi-center study with rigorous patient follow-up. Data from the study was recently presented at the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons 2008 Meeting.
Lab research has included laser ablation technology and minimally invasive direct intra-cardiac beating heart surgery. Doctor Gerdisch is an investigator in the Onx Valve FDA trial for lower anticoagulation.
He has lectured nationally and internationally on evolving technology and techniques for minimally invasive surgery for atrial fibrillation, valve repair and replacement, and surgery on the beating heart.
Dr Gedisch's Perspective on Mini-maze
The first time I performed a Mini-Maze was over three years ago. A seventy two year old gentleman, who was raising his two three year old grand-daughters, needed to be free of atrial fibrillation (afib) to keep up with them. I spoke with him a few months ago. He explained to me that he tells people he “had atrial fibrillation”. His point was that it is gone and his heart functions normally, meeting the challenges of his active life.
Since then we have performed the procedure for people with many different life stories, from executives to exercise enthusiasts, all with one thing in common — afib affecting their ability to fully live their lives.
Becoming free of afib eliminates a burden with which the patient lives every day. Achieving it requires attention to detail and a comprehensive understanding of the causes and how the heart changes with continued afib.
When patients first visit us, we spend time going over their history to identify factors that may have contributed to the onset of afib. We also carefully assess patients’ heart valves. Disorders of the heart valves have a strong relationship to afib. As we have a large experience with valve repair, we encounter and treat this relationship frequently. Leaving a malfunctioning valve unrepaired, will lead to return of the afib, as well as eventual heart damage due to the valve.
It is important that patients fully understand afib and the treatment options. When we meet the patients, they often already have experience with other therapies. Most have been tried on medications, and many have undergone previous attempts at catheter ablation. Our success, to some degree, depends on how long the patient has been in afib and how much the atria have enlarged. The Mini-Maze has been remarkably effective, even in these more challenging situations.
To properly document the success of the Mini-Maze procedure, we ask all of our patients to participate in long-term follow-up. Our documentation of long term outcomes for our patients is some of the most extensive ever undertaken. In fact, we participate in a long-term multi-center study, recently presented at the annual meeting of American Association of Thoracic Surgeons.
The Mini-Maze is a unique procedure using specific tools. We create complete barriers to conduction of the abnormal rhythm and document their effectiveness with electrophysiologic studies performed during the operation. Also, groups of nerve cells, called ganglionated plexi, are tested and neutralized. These plexi appear to contribute to the incidence and persistence of afib.
Finally, the left atrial appendage is removed. Atrial fibrillation can lead to clot formation in the atrium. The appendage is by far the most common site for clot formation and it can break off, causing a stroke. Elimination of the appendage adds another layer of security. We feel strongly that the superb results we have seen with the Mini-Maze are due to consistent performance of all the operation’s components and confirmation of their completeness.
The Mini-Maze has changed the landscape of surgical afib therapy. From the original Maze procedure the essential elements of successful afib surgery were identified. The Mini-Maze provides another path to elimination of afib, using the same principles.
Our patients have their own stories to tell about their lives after Mini-Maze surgery, and many of them have offered to speak with new patients about their experience.
