APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR CARDIAC ABLATION

摘要

An adjustable surgical clamp including one or more ablation elements creates a circular lesion in a first operating mode and a linear lesion in a second operating mode. A "box" lesion surrounding all four pulmonary veins may be formed by using the clamp to create two complimentary C-shaped lesions about pairs of the veins. A thermochromic liquid crystal strip that changes color at a tissue-ablating threshold temperature may be mounted on the surgical clamp to monitor temperature of the ablated tissue. Two microwave antennae may be positioned on the jaws of the clamp relative to each other to produce a combined substantially uniform field of tissue-ablating energy between the jaws.