Canadian doctors debut hybrid robotic-catheter technique for atrial fibrillation

Researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto have introduced a novel two-part treatment for atrial fibrillation that combines robotic surgery with traditional catheter ablation. The first stage uses a robot to create precise lesions on the heart’s exterior, while the second stage, performed weeks later, inserts catheters to target internal tissue after external scars have healed. Surgeons Paul Angaran and Gianluigi Bisleri say the combined technique offers greater dexterity and the ability to address broader cardiac regions, potentially boosting success rates for persistent AFib to 70-80 percent.

Patients must be referred to the duo, and awareness of the procedure remains limited. Edmonton resident Jon Davies, diagnosed after years of fatigue, became one of the inaugural cases, completing the robotic portion in September and planning to return to Toronto for the catheter ablation. The approach could reshape standard AFib care, which traditionally relies on medication or single-modality ablation.