After being rushed to Lutheran Hospital, nurses and doctors acted fast, wrapping him in a cooling blanket to reduce the risk of brain damage that may result from a lack of oxygen flow to the brain.

While inside the ER, doctors were finally able to get Eric’s heart pumping on its own again. The cooling blanket had worked; there was no brain damage. It wasn’t long before he was up and around with a new AICD, or Automatic Internal Cardiac Defibrillator, implant and different outlook on life.

The next few months included rigorous physical therapy. However, it wasn’t long before Eric realized something was definitely wrong. Without warning, he would be brought to his knees as his new AICD, or Automatic Internal Cardiac Defibrillator, triggered shocks to his heart. The diagnosis: Atrial Fibrillation, or AFIb — a condition that caused his heart to fibrillate at a rate of nearly 250 beats per minute. The doctors immediately put him on medications to help reduce, and hopefully eliminate, these painful episodes. Unfortunately, the medication did little to alleviate the fibrillations. It was obvious, something had to be done.

After talking with Dr. Jonathan Philpott, Co-Medical Director of the Atrial Fibrillation Center, Eric was introduced to a procedure called the Mini Maze. While it had never been performed before in Fort Wayne, the Mini Maze was getting great results for patients around the country. Dr. Philpott was confident he could perform the surgery and contacted the inventor of the Mini Maze, who agreed to work side-by-side with him during Eric’s surgery. After consultation with his family and Dr. Philpott, Eric decided to undergo surgery at Lutheran Hospital. This was his chance to take back control of his life. It was official: Eric Jones would be the area’s first Mini Maze patient.

Eric's surgery was scheduled the very next day. In a matter of hours, Dr. Philpott emerged from the operating room to deliver the good news to Eric’s family: the procedure was a success! Not only were they able to block the area of his heart that was sending these fibrillations and causing the shocks, they also eliminated an appendage on the heart that can cause strokes and clotting. Today, Eric is an active member of the YMCA and is committed to his work out schedule, which includes rocking the elliptical machine and knocking out laps in the pool. Once again, Eric is free to enjoy an active and healthy lifestyle — and his family couldn’t be happier!

AFib Mini-Maze : A Major Breakthrough
In recent years, surgeons have developed the minimally invasive “Mini Maze” procedure. The procedure is performed with a thoracoscopy approach, using a small tube-like instrument that allows the surgeon to view the inside of the chest with a camera. The surgeon reaches the heart through small incisions, while the heart continues beating. The device is an AICD, or Automatic Internal Cardiac Defibrillator. As in the open chest procedure, the surgeon uses an energy source to make precise scars, or ablations, on the heart to block the irregular electrical impulses that cause AFib. Again, the surgeon removes or closes off the left atrial appendage, which is believed to be the primary site of stroke-causing blood clots. Because the chest does not have to be opened, recovery is much easier — the average hospital stay is three days.