Recipients of Heart Surgery Meeting Doctor Who Invented Procedure

April 5, 2005, ST. LOUIS -- They call themselves "Mazers" and they''re coming from around the country to meet the man who helped change their lives.

The "Mazers" aren''t puzzle-fanatics, however. They''re recipients of a heart surgery for atrial fibrillation invented in St. Louis and they''re meeting in the Show-Me-State Saturday, April 23 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital to thank surgeon James Cox, MD. Dr. Cox, former chief of cardiac surgery at the former Barnes Hospital, developed the maze procedure in 1987.

"I know when I get there, I want to give Dr. Cox a big ''ol hug," says Carl Plaskett, 64, of St. Petersburg, Fla., who had his maze procedure in 2001. Plaskett helped organize a web-based group of "Mazers," as he dubbed them, and has been working on this reunion in St. Louis for three years.

"I don''t know about ''Mazer,'' actually I call myself ''a-Maze-ing,''" says Sandy Hatzigeorgiou, 64, of St. Louis who had the maze procedure in 2005 and will be attending the event. "Looking back, if I would have had this condition 20 years ago, I don''t know what would have happened to me."

At that time, her condition – atrial fibrillation or "A-Fib" which affects 2.2 million Americans – would have been treated with medications. However in 1987, things changed.

The maze procedure was developed by Dr. Cox at the former Barnes Hospital (Barnes and the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis merged into Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 1996) and Washington University School of Medicine. The complex procedure was the first to tackle the abnormality in the heart''s electrical system surgically and is now the gold standard when treating the condition. The surgery consists of creating a number of incisions in the atrium to correct the problem with the result looking like a children''s maze – hence the name.

Atrial fibrillation occurs when the atrium can no longer contract in a coordinated manner, and begins to fibrillate irregularly leading to an irregular heartbeat.

Atrial fibrillation comes with an increased risk of stroke and overall can make life difficult. "My pulmonary function had dropped so dramatically I was a basket case, and I didn''t want to be around at age 60 with an oxygen tank," says Plaskett. "If it weren''t for Maze I would have lived in the shadow of what my life used to be."

More than 150 people are expected to reunite in St. Louis and hear from experts on how the maze procedure has improved through the years.

For example, Ralph J. Damiano, Jr., MD, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, continues to refine the procedure. "We''ve developed an alternative to surgical incisions using two electrodes passing a current through a section of heart tissue," says Dr. Damiano. "This ''bipolar radiofrequency'' variation of the maze procedure creates scar tissues that blocks abnormal impulses responsible for atrial fibrillation."

For more information about the maze procedure or the maze reunion, call 314-TOP-DOCS (314-867-3627). The reunion is made possible in part by an educational grant from St. Jude Medical.

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