Also known as the Cox-Maze procedure, a surgical approach to treatment of atrial fibrillation with a success rate of over 90%. The procedure uses strategically-placed incisions in both atria to interrupt the circular electrical patterns that are responsible for this arrhythmia. (Alternative procedures used surgically to treat atrial fibrillation include radiofrequency, microwave, and cryothermy. The goal of all three is to scar heart tissue to block the abnormal electrical impulses from being conducted through the heart and promote the normal conduction of impulses through the proper pathway.)
The maze procedure is a collection of cardiac surgery procedures intended to cure atrial fibrillation (AF), a common disturbance of heart rhythm. Recently, various methods of minimally invasive maze procedures have been developed; these procedures are collectively named minimaze - "mini" versions of the original maze surgery.