Abstract: . . .  AF. The goal is to remove the triggers that start AF. AF triggers usually originate in the pulmonary veins (the tubes that transport oxygenated blood from the lungs back into the heart), and set off multiple circuits of electrical activity causing AF, says Dr. Rho. These triggers can be mapped with catheters inside the heart and electrically isolated from the rest of the atrium without having to open the chest. Usually between one to four pulmonary veins need to be electrically isolated during the procedure. To accomplish this, tiny catheters with electrodes are placed at the opening of the pulmonary veins to record signals. An ablation catheter then places a series of small superficial burns near the opening, which create an electrical barrier between the trigger and the rest of the atrium. Patients are awake but relaxed during the 3-to-4 hour procedure. This is a fairly new technique that offers an approximately 70 to 80 percent success rate, says Dr. Rho. This is an exciting option for patients who suffer from symptomatic atrial fibrillation and are apprehensive about taking antiarrhythmic medications and blood thinners. With advanced technology, Dr. Robert Rho creates a 3-D map of a patients heart to study the patients atrial fibrillation . For more information about atrial fibrillation ablation, please contact the UW Regional Heart Center at 1-866-UW-HEART or on the Web at www.uwheartcenter.org. Page 4 Three factors are important in choosing a recipient for a donors liver. The liver must be an appropriate size for the recipient, the donors and recipients blood groups must be compatible, and the recipient must be ready for surgery within 12 hours. We see many patients who are referred to our center late in their disease course and suffer through complicated trans- plant courses because of their ill health, says Dr. Kuhr. Fortunately for Brittney, she received a liver while her diseased liver still maintained some function and because of this, her post-operative convalescence was speedy. Brittneys surgery went well and she is anxious to get back to playing basketball. She will be a freshman at Seattle Pacific University and will play collegiate basketball on a scholarship this fall while studying elementary education. Brittney Kroon, a 6-foot-4 Wasilla High School basketball star seemed an unlikely candidate for a liver transplant. In 2000, at the age of 16, Brittney was diagnosed with autoimmune liver disease, or autoim- mune hepatitis, a disease where the bodys immune system attacks its own liver. There is no . . .
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