Vic: New heart operation performed in Aust

AAP General News (Australia)
02-07-2001
Vic: New heart operation performed in Aust

By Jane Willams

MELBOURNE, Feb 7 AAP - A new heart operation developed in the United States has been
performed for the first time in Australia and its success may help thousands.

The Cox-Maze III operation corrects atrial (atrial) fibrillation, a condition where
the top chambers of the heart contract out of sync with the heart's beat.

Patients suffer shortness of breath, palpitations, feelings of anxiety and, in more
extreme cases, are at risk of stroke.

Last Friday, 61-year-old Arthur Lee volunteered to act as a guinea pig for the …