For patients with AFib, left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion should now be part of any non-emergency cardiac operation, and surgical ablation should also be considered. Panayotis Vardas, M.D., discusses how he and colleagues from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons arrived at stronger recommendations for these procedures in their 2023 guidelines. Learn more about related surgical procedures for AFib and the directions of future research.