Laser Operation Inside A Beating Heart

British doctors have for the first time treated a man with a tiny laser that burns away tissue inside a beating heart.

Scott Rosser, 34, suffered from atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder that caused him to blackout, and increased his risk of a stroke.

But doctors at The Heart Hospital in London successfully treated the condition with a new laser balloon. Sky News was given exclusive access to the operation.

When pumped up inside the heart, the balloon pushes out the blood to give doctors a clear view from an on-board camera of the tissue they need to treat.

The laser then burns a barrier on the inside of the heart to block stray electrical disturbances that cause the abnormal heart rhythm.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Oliver Segal said the device will transform the treatment of a heart condition that affects 200,000 patients in the UK.

"It's extremely exciting," he told Sky News.

"It allows us to look inside the heart, a dimension that's never been seen before. And that has to be good for accuracy, good for success and good for safety as well."

Up to now doctors have relied on computer generated maps of the heart to give them an impression of what they were doing inside the body.

At least half of patients needed to be re-admitted to hospital for further treatment because the initial procedure failed.

Each further operation costs the NHS several thousand pounds and puts patients at risk of potentially fatal complications.

But the new laser device cures the arrhythmia in 90% of patients first time round.

Mr Rosser was treated under a general anaesthetic and kept in hospital overnight as a precaution.

His heart rate used to go up as high as 202 beats per minute despite medication. But his heart rhythm following the procedure was normal.

He said: "This procedure has a greater degree of accuracy so you don't have to come in for a second procedure, which is good.

"The fewer surgical interventions you have the better."