Does the heart have to be stopped to do a Maze procedure?
The Maze procedure does require that the heart be stopped and necessitates the use of the “heart-lung machine” or cardiopulmonary bypass. In order to make the incisions and to close them with sutures, the surgeon needs to work on a non-beating heart. To protect the other organs while the heart is stopped, cardiopulmonary bypass supplies blood flow and oxygen to all of the body’s organ systems.
